678

Personal
Posted on April 9, 2016 by David M Willis

678 thoughts on “Personal”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    the family that robs together, sobs together

    wait no

    the family that thieves together leaves together

    no wait

    the family that breaks and enters together… makes a renter together?

    1. Ana Chronistic

      DOSE BECKY EYES

      1. KingSpenser

        A family who steals together, heals together.

        1. Freemage

          Brilliant!

        2. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          I’m gonna be really picky here, they’re not going to rob Becky’s house, because:

          Becky is one of the residents of said house, so she can’t actually steal her own stuff because she has a right to be in the house and invite the others in

          Also robbery is theft from a victim by intimidation. Gaining access to a property as part of stealing from said property is burglary.

          The family that has burgers together, burgles together. ;D

        3. Just Saying

          You. I like you.

        4. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Heh, thanks. xD I once got curious as to what exactly the difference between robbery and burglary were, so I looked it up. Along with the reason why the verb form of burglary is “Burglarize” in America, but “Burgle” here in the UK. I get curious a lot, I look up a lot of random s***t. 😛

        5. Nicknack Paddywack

          You are me at 2AM falling deeper and deeper into the Wikipedia rabbit hole when I have an 8AM exam the next day.

        6. White Rice

          Burglary is a funny one (at least in the “exact letter of the law” sense of it) in that technically if you go somewhere with the intent to rob the place and/or steal something all stealthy like then you’ve committed burglary. The key is the intent, regardless of any actions taken once you’ve arrived.

          It’s easy enough to prove in court if the person is found with “burglary tools” and/or has a written plan (who really does that anymore) after the act’s been committed, but burglary without actual theft isn’t commonly charged (usually it becomes something like conspiracy to commit some other crime)

        7. Thorbjorn

          Well as she is an adult an her father have thrown her out I am kinda sure she is not a resident anymore. Meaning that she do not have the rights to enter nor invite anyone else.

          On the other hand she deffinetly can’t steal her own Personal infromation papers as I am quite sure that you actually can’t own other peoples personal information paper, which is funny because the deffinition of burglary is intering a hosue with the intention to commit a crime, but these people are only entering the house with intention to collect Becky’s private property. (I have no reason what the punishment for that is)

        8. Krisalys

          Actually, he didn’t throw her out; he was actually planning to take her back home. It’s her house too.

        9. Jams

          Her father never threw her out of her house. He pulled her out of school and then expended a lot of effort trying to get her back *into* the house.

        10. Oruncrest

          I think he did throw her out. You don’t deny someone a key to keep them from leaving your home, only to keep them from coming in. I think Toedad kicked her out expecting her to come crawling back all repentant for being a lesbian and Becky went, ‘Screw that! Maybe Joyce can help me out.’

        11. Pat

          An abusive parent denies the kids a key to deny them the freedom to come and go.

          Also, she wasn’t living at home at the moment and also fled without much preparation, so maybe she owns one but doesn’t have it any more.

        12. Random832

          Legally he may not actually have the right to “kick her out” without going through a formal eviction process. Different states have different laws about this, and I wasn’t able to find much information specific to Indiana.

        13. Thorbjorn

          True.

          I don’t really know Indiana’s law (or US law for that matter) well enough to know the specefics but at least in some western countries, as long as she does not live at home anymore (Her home adress is at another place) that would be enough to technically require permission from a person living in the house to enter.

        14. Pat

          That’s breaking and entering, then, no other crime.

          But then, he stole her property. Like, all of it.
          In addition to his other many, many crimes.

        15. Thorbjorn

          Question is how much of that she actually legally own though. Not saying he isn’t an ass, but she should be very carefull on what she takes from that home, because as soon she takes something she thinks is legally hers but is not we move directly from breaking and entering (Which is debateable even if I am to believe other people who I assume know more about us law to robbery)

        16. patricklukcy13

          but they did not have burgers…….

        17. AngryBamboo

          the family that crimes together, is sublime together.

        18. lejwocky

          the family that transitions directly from the solid to gas phase sublimates together

      2. Bicycle Bill

        DOSE JOYCE EYES!!

        1. butts

          THIS IS MOST EXCELLENT

    2. Viktoria

      The family that steals together heals together.

      …

      Now I’m disappointed that Leverage never had that as a tagline.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        I was about to come back and say “feels together”

      2. Mollyscribbles

        that’s the best description of Leverage ever.

      3. David

        Leverage FTW!

    3. JULES GOLDSTEIN

      The family with meals together, steals together.

      Go Chicken Fingers!

    4. pdp15

      The family the burgles together, gurgles together.

      The family that heists together, gets iced together …

    5. SmilingNid

      Second grand theft in less than a week Joyce is well on her way to becoming a master criminal.

      1. thejeff

        I’m pretty sure taking the family car to drive around town and meet the rest of the family for lunch isn’t exactly “Grand Theft Auto”.

        Nor, for that matter, is collecting your personal effects from your residence, even if you don’t happen to have a key.

        1. qman

          Actually it is, strictly speaking. If Joyce’s parents called the police about the car being missing, that’s what she’d be charged with. Same for breaking and entering.

    6. Reltzik

      The family that liberates together libates together?

      1. Reltzik

        … also, saying it in-universe would be an excuse to see the last two panels again.

    7. Baf

      The family that burgles together gurgles together

    8. Baf

      Wait, no, that’s already been done.
      The family that filches together… zilches together?
      The family that pilfers together… um…

    9. Catty

      A family that nicks together sticks together.

      1. Just Saying

        ^ Best one.

        1. Sambo

          Agreed

      2. Max

        Yaaas

    10. Heavensrun

      Finds their center together.

    11. Pat

      I mean, leaving together after thieving is probably the best way to do it.

      1. sarahlost36

        a family that does crime together, does time forever?

        1. Ana Chronistic

          the family that takes the shit together, gets away with it together

  2. Ranial

    This is exactly where I dreamed this was going, I’m so pleased.

    1. Durandal_1707

      But of course they can’t just go to the Social Security office and apply for a new card, because that would be crazy!

      1. Dave

        Real life makes dull fiction. ;3

        1. Ana Chronistic

          it also takes at least two weeks, which is like THREE YEARS

        2. Birdra

          You need a birther certificate to get a SSN, which I assume is also in her house.

        3. Freemage

          I assume a birther certificate is what conservative Christians use, in order to establish that Jesus confirms they were born as Americans, unlike that Seekrit Mooslim, Obama?

        4. Viktoria

          Nope, some fundies tend to not have birth certificates, because that’s how the gubmint tracks you. It’s fine though, they’re american*, why would anyone ask them to prove it.

          *white

        5. -Sentinel-

          How is that even legal?

        6. Conuly

          It’s not. Welcome to the world of sovereign citizens.

          http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-look-at-the-sovereign-citizen-movement/

          They think that since your birth certificate writes your name in ALL CAPS, that’s a secret move by the government to set up a fake persona to steal all your money. You can stymie the government by not playing their game and never writing your name in ALL CAPS, and by not getting your kids BCs or SSNs.

          (I can only conclude that they believe the government is run by magical faeries, btw.)

        7. zoomer296

          Did you know that if you spill salt or sugar in front of a government official, they have to stop and count every grain?

        8. DSL

          Zoomer — no, they require you count every grain, account for any salt or sand you have left, and determine how much you then have to give them. And if you get it wrong, you have to give them more salt or sand.

        9. Saucy Jack

          And then they fine you for littering.

        10. Dean

          You should receive the receipt for your salt or sand by mail within 4-6 weeks.

        11. Cerberus

          This, also, reiterating the multiple weeks thing. Not a big problem if you’re not desperately searching for work now so you can stop feeling like a lump sponging off your friends (and for any stray Becky haters who want to say this is exactly what she is, I offer all three of Ultra Car’s middle fingers). But Becky is very anxious to start earning money and start getting her life in order, especially by now, I imagine the deadline for Winter/Spring Enrollment is coming up and I guarantee that Indiana University is going to need not only her SS card, but probably also her certificate of home schooling (assuming Indiana requires those like California does) and GED (if she got one).

          Plus, rule of drama would argue that she’d either have to add the extra couple of weeks to get her address changed first or risk having her new SS card and birth certificate sent to her “home” address either at Anderson or the locked up house she can’t easily access after this weekend.

          Doing it the proper way will take a lot longer and cost some initial scratch, though not as much as I was initially fearing, thanks, commenter who looked that up. It will also involve risking far less jail time and harassment by cops…

          The pragmatist in me is worried for them. The fan in me is excited to see this go epically wrong, because I’m an awful human being.

        12. Dana

          Given your comments here, you are anything but an awful human being.

        13. Cerberus

          Clearly you don’t know about the woodshed full of bodies… okay, fine, they’re less bodies and more azaleas… I’m terrible at being awful, okay?!?

        14. Shiro

          Oh jeez, you just made me think…what if she has no certificate of homeschooling, like, Ross never bothered to take care of the paperwork? Given fundies, we can’t take anything for granted.

        15. Cerberus

          Shiro-

          That’s very possible. As is her not having a GED. If so, she’s going to have to complete one of those before she can even think about being transferred into Indiana U and she might need to get some community college classes under her belt to prove to the school that she can do well at the college level.

          Toedad may have reeeeeeally fucked her over in more ways than just the obvious.

        16. Drath

          Is there any way in the USA to get all those papers in case your parents decided that having you off the grid was a great idea ?

          If Toedad did this, combined with the mysterious circumstances of his wife’s death, he might have different reasons altogether to keep Becky away from legal overseeing. A terrifying thought.

        17. AeromechanicalAce

          I dunno, would she have been able to enroll at Anderson without that information?

        18. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Which now reminds me that she should swing by a post office and fill out change of address cards to get her mail forwarded. As I recall, no documentation is needed for that, at least.

        19. DinaJoyce

          Regarding homeschool-related paperwork, it looks like Indiana doesn’t have much in the way of requirements for homeschooling and therefore Becky wouldn’t have any documentation of completion anyway (http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/indiana.pdf) This is pretty normal across the U.S. NY (where I was homeschooled) is one of the most stringent states and doesn’t give any certificate of completion or anything. I made my transcript on MS word and my diploma (which I never bothered to print and have never been asked for) on MS publisher. GEDs are also unusual for homeschoolers and are often considered an insult (I’m not a high school dropout). Most colleges just accept SAT or ACT scores like they would for anybody else.

        20. Galdan

          But Joyce and her siblings study in a real college, so they must have their papers in order ot prove that they are legal US residents.

          Even that Christian wannabe college Becky went to had to keep their papers in order (even if the government didn’t acknowledge their degrees, they would still have to justify how they earn their money to operate). So Becky most likely has a birth certificate.

        21. thejeff

          Anderson is actually a real college with a pretty decent reputation, as religious colleges go anyway. It probably has lower standards than IU, but there’s no reason to think she wouldn’t have needed most of the usual documentation to go there.
          There’s also no real reason to think even Toedad was that particular flavor of crazy. The Browns aren’t. There’s no indication it was common in their church. Home-schooling bigoted fundies are a lot more common than the sovereign citizen wackos.

        22. Annie

          Yep. And I don’t know about other states, but here getting a copy of your birth certificate is about $30 and takes several weeks to get in itself. Add that to several weeks to get her social security card and that’s about 1-2 months she’d have to delay filling out applications.

          I remember when I was consistently broke. I made a hair more than minimum wage and worked at least 40 hours a week. Even then when I needed my birth certificate to apply for a better job, that $30 might as well have been a million. It was a completely unattainable sum for me. At least not without saving every dime I could manage for at least 6 months. And that was with a job. If I hadn’t had a job that money would have been down-right impossible to get.

          Breaking in to her house seems like the most reasonable option to me. Especially if Becky has no proof of address that she lives there in order to get a cop or even a locksmith to help.

        23. Raza

          I’m in WA. Here anyone can order anyone’s BC if they know name, DOB, and city/state. It’s 20 bucks and ready the next, or sometimes the same day. Got bc for my unofficial foster kid without identifying myself in anyway. And no way they thought I was a bio parent. I’m black, and in my 20’s, kid was suuuper white and 17 so…. It’s considered public record here. SS card is more effort though, and takes longer. But I never needed to show it for college. I just needed the number. They didn’t even check if my GED was real as far as I know. I had a different name then so I do t know how they would have found it.
          My money is on Becky not having a ssn. Which is legal in the US actually, but you can’t access any rights or benefits given to citizens until you prove you were born here. Lots of fundies don’t register their children’s births.

        24. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          At the risk of contradicting myself below, about 10 years ago I was able to order a birth certificate for an elderly friend of my mother online with nothing except her information, current address, and my credit card. They mailed it to her in a week for $25 + $50 speedup fee to a private company.

        25. zoomer296

          It gets worse, you have a limit of three cards per year, and ten cards per lifetime. My mom tried to reach the limit and withhold the cards from me, but got nine instead of ten. So now I have one card that I REALLY have to protect. It’d be nice if the limit reset when you turn eighteen or twenty-five, kids aren’t responsible for what their parents do.

        26. Shiro

          Holy shit, I’m sorry, that is the suckiest way to find out very useful information.

        27. Annie

          Woah, crap! I didn’t know that!
          And I’m reeeeally glad that apparently my mother didn’t know that when I was a teen. Yikes.

          I’m sorry she did that too you.
          I agree that it should reset. Not all parents are benevolent and have your best interests at heart.

          Also, sometimes shit just happens. When I was little my (now ex) step-mom used my SSN to get credit cards and things like that. It got all sorted out before I ever knew it happened, and dad divorced her as soon as he could, but what if he hadn’t? Or what if he didn’t find out for years? She could have gotten copies of my card without me ever knowing.
          Wow, that’s a ridiculous rule.

        28. Ana Chronistic

          what the actual fuck =(

          I feel like by that point, if you didn’t have the one, you’d have to move to another country… what a shit law

        29. SSG

          The SSA website says that they may wave the limit if you can prove that not having the card would cause “significant hardship.” I’m guessing that an abusive parent trying to control you by preventing you from legal access to your own documents would probably qualify.

        30. Jhon

          “limit of three cards per year, and ten cards per lifetime”

          FREE cards. After that, I expect they charge.

      2. Not a Pumpkin

        That requires Identification, which Becky does not have.

        1. Not a Pumpkin

          I mean, if she had Proof of ID, she could just ASK the bank to let her in, saying she needs some documents, and they probably would, but without ID, they’re likely to go “we can’t let random strangers into one of our houses.”

        2. Cerberus

          I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a bank account though. It came up once before, but I’m not sure if I can easily find out if it was in comic or not.

          But it would be very likely given that Toedad has not allowed her a car, a driver’s license, a freaking phone, nor a key to her own house (dear Bob is this man an epic less asshole, like holy fuckberries and cream).

          Someone that controlling of every aspect of their child properties life is not going to allow them unfettered access to her own bank account. I imagine, if he’s a true traditionalist, then both of the MacIntyre women were allowed “small allowances” from time to time to make “minor purchases for the good of the household”, cause that was the common custom back in the early 60s and that’s the era that made America great according to assholes like Toedad.

          So, she may literally have nothing on her right now to not only prove that she is who she is, but even to prove that she exists and is in the country legally (lucky her white skin will help some there).

        3. neeks

          well, in the first panel of THIS strip she explicitly states she doesn’t have a bank account, but idk if it was mentioned previously.

        4. Cerberus

          Oh hello, I’m blind as a bat.

          No wonder I was going “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this in comic” while going to my main go-tos for what Becky does and doesn’t have.

        5. Historian

          I think that Not A Pumpkin wasn’t speaking to the bank account rather about the bank possibly owning Becky’s house now that her father is in prison and if Becky had ID she could talk the bank into letting her into her home to pick up important documents BUT Becky doesn’t have ID and the bank isn’t about to let an unidentified stranger go rustling through the house it just repossessed. Robbery it is! Huzzah!

        6. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          But we have no reason to think the house is repossessed. Ross has been in jail less then a week and the whole crisis of lesbianism is at most two weeks old. So at most the mortgage is two weeks behind, if we assume Ross was going to pay on the due date but forgot about it in his rush to save his daughter from Hell.

          Houses don’t get repossessed after two weeks, it takes many months. There might be a nastygram from the bank in the mailbox, but no more than that.

        7. Tan

          Hey, since you were poking around strips, I’ve asked this to the comments section in general before but haven’t gotten an answer: Do we know that Becky doesn’t have a driver’s license? Becky’s comment in http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/get/ is suggestive that she’s driven a car before, which suggests at least lessons, and why teach someone to drive if they’re not going to get a license?

          But I’m very ready to be proven wrong, as keeping her from getting a driver’s license certainly would fit Toedad’s M.O. But I was wondering if there is a source, as people keep stating it as fact. If you’ve got anything (a strip, a Word From Willis, whatever), it’d be much appreciated.

        8. Tan

          …Though looking directly below me, perhaps that “with no identification” is Word From Willis right there, and my question is moot.

        9. Cerberus

          I have a feeling that Becky only knows about driving in the abstract or by bugging Joyce to let her try driving around a little while Joyce had her license.

        10. Chris (the other one)

          I’m from Northern Michigan and 52 years old, so I’m talking about 40 years ago, in a place where 40 years ago, there was two, maybe three cops in the entire county. I was taught / learned to drive at 12 years old. This was so when my family went to visit my uncles and aunts about 100 miles away ever couple of months, my dad and mom could nap while I drove us there. Of course, it was intended (I assume) for me to get a license, but still, that’s a reason and an effort of licenseless driving teaching…. When I was 15, and in high school, our school had actual driver’s ed classes. Every time it was my turn to be in the car for the road trip part of the class (three times at at least a half hour each time), the teacher put me behind the wheel last, and fell asleep every freaking time. The other girls and boys hated me, and loved me all at the same time. (I can still remember the whispers to go to the one McDonalds in the area, about 20 miles out of our way.)

        11. Pat

          The key thing is probably awful, but…

          I didn’t have a key until I was in high school. If I didn’t drive, that meant I was never out without them, right? And I didn’t carry keys without a car, so why did I need one?
          And later we moved to a house with a locking storm door. We don’t lock that one except at night. My dad didn’t make copies of the key or even carry one himself, because it was never locked when anybody was out. Until the night my dad forgot I was still out and locked it; I ended up calling the home phone and waking my mom up when I knew she had to go to work early in the morning, but they were nothing but apologetic. Then there was the time I left through the garage while somebody else was leaving, and everybody else also left through the garage; the storm door didn’t get opened that morning, and I couldn’t get in when I got home and had to wait for somebody else. My dad then made copies and distributed them.
          I was not blamed for either of these things (which is odd, actually).

          Now, in the first story as soon as I said I needed a key they also gave one to my sisters. Deciding my sisters and I were equally “adult” despite me being four and six years older than them (and, frankly, having been more mature at 10 than one is in her 20s) was a common tactic they used against me. Given some of the other stuff I’ve said about my parents, I don’t mean to imply they were grand to me.
          But I don’t think locking me out was ever done out of malice (I mean, they provided me a car as soon as I was able to drive one on my own; that particular brand of restricting my freedom by making the ability to come and go literally impossible is not one they’ve ever used).

        12. thejeff

          Well, while I had a license at 16 and a bank account earlier, I didn’t have a car of my own until my second year of college (and only then because my parents had sold the house and left the state).
          I don’t remember if I had a house key that first year of college. Why would I have needed one? Not like I was coming home without one. I’d carried one in high school, because I got home before either parent did most of the time.
          But yeah, there are excuses, but Ross was far more likely to be abusively controlling than to actually have practical reasons.

      3. David M Willis

        huh didn’t know you could just walk in and get an ssn with no identification

        what did you say your name was

        gonna try something out

        1. Idontcarenomore

          Send to your states Dept. of Statistics for your birth certificate. Only need to supply your partents names and your birth date and place. Cost about $12.

          Take the birth certificate to you SS office.

          OR. How did Becky did registered for Anderson without a SSN?
          They have it in her files and should have to reason to deny it to her.

        2. not someone else

          No.

          Where do you live that this is the case?

        3. Annie

          Wow, I’m jealous of how much cheaper it is to get a copy of your birth certificate in Indiana than where I live. It’s either $25 or $30 here.

        4. Cerberus

          Looked at the requirements linked on that page:
          http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/Id_requirements.pdf

          Becky is fuuuuuuucked if she goes the legal route. For SS card, she needs the birth certificate or thankfully her baptism record (though they may be of a sect that sees those as too “Catholic”), the proof of enrollment to Anderson (this would be the easiest, but would presume Anderson would be interested in dealing straight with her rather than eject her on sight for “harassing a student” in their eyes, and prolly her passport. The third definitely would be a nightmare and a half requiring a likely appointment in advance or a trip to City Hall and a line to wait through during very narrow hours.

          And that’s all well and good and at least doable. But the requirement of proof for Indiana’s birth certificate means she’s got nothing on her to fulfill it. She don’t got a driver’s license or a passport or a letter of employment verification or an SS card or a vehicle or voter registration.

          And she don’t got a Student ID, because she is officially not enrolled there anymore and the government will check (no really, the government doesn’t tend to fuck around on requirements unless you’re rich enough to bribe you a legislator).

          She might have a gun license, but that is only one of two of the secondary requirements she would need to go that route.

          As much as I think this is a dangerous idea, looking at this list, it might be the literal only idea that doesn’t involve literally suing Toedad for access to the house or submitting a court petition and the fat stack of court processing fees, potential lawyer fees, and 1-3 month waiting time for a spot on the docket.

          No wonder Becky is freaking the fuck out. She has no idea what she does and doesn’t have and she doesn’t have access at the moment to do a single one of these steps yet outside of trying to track down the easiest and backtrack from there. And I don’t think a single one of us has figured out how to do that and we’re all computer-literate adults who know how to google.

        5. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          no really, the government doesn’t tend to fuck around on requirements unless you’re rich enough to bribe you a legislator

          So the answer is that they need to get the dirt on Roz so she will lean on Robin to pull strings. (Problem there is you need to figure out something Roz would be ashamed of. Maybe she has a collection of cheesy romance novels?)

        6. Pat

          You don’t need something Roz would be ashamed of, you need something Robin would be ashamed of.

        7. No Name

          Really, all you got to do is tell her a lesbian is in trouble and, maybe after another round of vicious place-putting, a la bongo censor, she’ll gladly start pulling away. The question is whether or not Joyce can withstand it this time.

        8. Cerberus

          Yeah, it’d be much easier to just go, hey, Roz, want to piss off your sister and offend her sex-hating constituents

        9. Pat

          Does student ID stop identifying you when you’re no longer a student?

        10. thejeff

          The official requirement is a “current Student ID”. I suspect that would probably work. It’s only been a couple weeks, she may still be officially enrolled if they even check. Assuming the ID is dated or marked somehow for the particular semester/year.

          OTOH, Willis above mentions “no identification” and a Student ID has never been mentioned in comic, so the safe assumption is that she doesn’t actually have one – left it behind in the escape or taken away by Toedad.

        11. Cerberus

          I doubt Becky’s still officially enrolled unless she lucked out and they were slow on processing the expulsion paperwork. And given that she was only there for a month, she might not have an official transcript so she may just have her application filed with them and little else left officially in the system.

          And yeah, missing student ID is possible, as it’d be easy for her to leave it behind when fleeing for her life and not see it as crucial to recover when she went back for her stuff.

        12. Random832

          She almost certainly doesn’t have a passport. John, Ruth, and Howard are the only characters we’ve met who are likely to have a passport; everyone in the cast being midwestern North American and those three being the only ones known to have traveled internationally.

        13. Random832

          For the (non-college) adults I’d give them a 50-50-ish chance of having a passport – for everyone else… [i]maybe[/i] one or two of them has one.

        14. Cerberus

          Yup, I’d say the odds for the rest of the adults are even lower, because not only are they homebody midwesterners, but that culture is deeply suspicious of international travel and having passports if you’re not a missionary or a former missionary, seeing it as a sign of potential corruption.

          In the particular sect I belonged to, it was a badge of pride to have never left the overall city or at least the state since moving to it and those who traveled to Mexico were looked at with derision. But then, that sect was extremely racist and xenophobic, so Joyce’s sect might be a bit more forgiving of international travel than that.

        15. Random832

          Well, sure, but my “(non-college) adults” was meant to refer to the parents of the rest of the main cast, not to the adult population of La Porte.

        16. Jhon

          “She might have a gun license”
          Wonder if she has a hunting or fishing license? If she can find it, it would be at least something.

        17. Idontcarenomore

          I have sent for college transcripts when I re-enrolled in a college across country from that one. 10 years later. They had the records and all of my student information.

        18. Conuly

          Anderson can’t actually require that Becky hand over her SSN.

          https://www.ssa.gov/kc/id_practices_best.htm

          https://www.ssn.uillinois.edu/frequently_asked_questions/ (That’s University of Illinois, but notice they confirm that you don’t need to hand over your SSN unless you’re being employed, applying for financial aid or a scholarship, or having your tuition taken as a deduction on your parents’ taxes.)

        19. Cerberus

          Interesting note, if Indiana University is anything like my old school, she might have some support from teachers like Leslie for enrollment at least. I remember in my literature program in college that there were several students who lost documentations who teachers fudged details for in order to help keep them enrolled in school and able to complete their program at the least.

        20. Kei

          As a parent that has had to pick up birth certificates for my children, it is not that easy.

        21. Conuly

          It’s not obligatory to hand over your SSN to attend university. Google it, my comment with a link went into moderation.

        22. KingoHrts

          It may be this easy where you are but locally here in VA the rules are very much tougher to navigate. Since 9/11 getting identification here takes time and you have to jump through a lot of hoops. The hijackers got most of their ID’s from the Virginia DMV, so they are now borderline obsessive about this. My wife could not get a replacement Driver’s License until she could provide a full Birth Certificate and a full marriage license from the State of Kentucky to prove that Jula G. on the B/C was indeed Julia K. on the marriage license.

        23. Idontcarenomore

          I lived in NY at the time, with no problems.
          This year, in MI, I repeated the same steps that I did 10 years ago. Except that this time I needed to replace my SSN card as it was literally falling apart, not sure what happened to it. New back in the box I kept old one in.

          I lived in Va. for 22 years. I have lived in more than 15 states, and Va. is the closest thing I’ve seen to a Police State in this country.
          The police are Storm Troopers and I mean this in the text it’s printed in. I was to the point of being afraid of them: time to move.

          I informed the Va. DMV that I was leaving the state permanently. Turned in my tags. And moved.
          4 Months later I got a letter that they were pulling my Drivers License as I had not paid my personal property taxes.
          I wrote back and informed them I had turned in my tags to them in person. And was now driving on my new state’s drivers license.
          They told me to prove it and send them proof of my new drivers license.
          I wrote back and told them not only NO but Hell NO.
          Never heard from them again.

        24. TPman

          If you live in Venzuela getting your birth certificate may require a fee of many many dollars. It is not an official sort of fee if you catch my drift.
          It could be that this has changed over the years, but I had a social studies teacher who found herself in that situation.

        25. Pat

          I once wen to my bank to complain about fees, they told me they wouldn’t stop, so I said “It’s a savings account that’s costing money. I’m gonna close the account.”
          The teller handed me a pile of cash, I started heading towards a better bank to create a new account… and realized that at no point had I given her any ID. Considered heading back in to close a few more accounts.

        26. Random832

          Did you have the account book or debit card? They’re still supposed to require your ID to withdraw cash, but maybe that was at least something more than “random person off the street”.

      4. phosphor

        You have to have a birth certificate and proof of identity for that – which would be in her dads house.

      5. not someone else

        This storyline has certainly given ample evidence for why Voter ID laws keep being passed. It’s kind of hilarious, in a sad way, how few people understand how something as basic as identification works.

        I mean I get that a lot of people have never just not already had this stuff, but I don’t get how that leads to presuming there’s no effort involved in getting it.

        1. Cerberus

          THIS!

          For those of us who have our SS card in a box or a filing cabinet somewhere and a driver’s license in our pocket, getting ID is annoying, but relatively painless. Abused kids who have no means of returning home safely and no legal street address have much less ability to easily rebuild their documentation and no safe place to store or receive it without the aid of homeless support organizations.

          And thus it’s easy to get the filing cabinet types to pass laws that literally wipe out the abused young adults on the street types ability to participate in their legal rights, because they can justify it to themselves as something easy, even though they know the whole point of it is that it’s hard and they’re hoping this will help artificially lower the number of Dem voters.

        2. Lin

          I’ve restrained myself from getting into these debates because it is so frustrating, but: yes. I used to work with homeless teenagers who were homeless on their own in WA state. The vast majority of these kids didn’t have any of their documentation and either didn’t know who would have it, had deeply adversarial relationships with the people who had it, or had parents who were struggling with their own stuff and didn’t know where it was. Kids in the foster system who were considered “foster placement fails” who stopped even being sent to group homes and who just lived at our homeless shelter whose social workers weren’t sure who would have things like their BC and SS card, children of rich families who were holding their documentation hostage until they “shaped up” (mostly happened to LGBT kids, kids whose homeless parents were in no condition to track anyone’s documentation.

          It would often take us MONTHS and sometimes up to a year to get this kind of documentation. And we were doing it professionally, as social workers and advocates who were known to the system, and who knew the processes in our state. This storyline is not some wacky idea that Willis had, it is the lives of very very marginalized people

        3. Cerberus

          Yay! Thanks for being willing to add your perspective. Do you mind if I refer to this comment when people are arguing the legal process of grabbing her documentation would be quick and painless?

        4. Idontcarenomore

          I understand what you are saying. However, Becky is not that bad off, yet.
          She knows her parents names and her birthday and birth place. She could send off to the states Dept. of Statistics and request a copy of her birth certificate. Her problem is using her own real address.
          She may have her SSN on her Anderson papers and they will have them on file, so she could check.
          Looks like her best bet is to get help. There are pro-bono lawyers who would but she likely dosn’t know that.
          Time to go to someone (like Ms. Bean) for help.

        5. Annie

          Agreed. I live in Texas where you need a driver’s license or state id to vote. So many people tell me that I’m exaggerating when I try to explain exactly how much of a hindrance that law is when you’re poor.

          When I was in high school I went from living with my toxic mother to my living with my dad. My mother was *pissed*. I expected to see a mushroom cloud from the direction where she lived at any moment that summer because I figured she was so mad that she’d combust.

          One of the many ways she tried to get back at me and dad for it was that she denied me my social security card and birth certificate so that I couldn’t register for school in the city I’d moved to. I’m not sure if she thought that because I couldn’t register I’d have to go back to living with her (which would have made the custody fight MUCH harder for dad to win), or if she simply wanted to cause dad and I problems and headaches in every way she could.

          Either way, I very nearly had to move back under her wretched roof because it was looking like we wouldn’t be able to get a new copy of the card and certificate in time to register for school. The cost of both of them was also cutting it close. Dad made it work, but it was a near thing and pennies were tighter than usual for that paycheck.

          It was almost 20 years ago, but I still remember how damn hard it was. And dad had a reliable vehicle to go downtown multiple times in order to get them. It’s so much harder when you don’t. And when it comes to voter ID laws, if you don’t have an acceptable ID, odds are you don’t have a car.

        6. Conuly

          Fact for the interested: Fully 10% of the adult citizens of the US do not have a valid photo ID.

        7. John

          I didn’t have one for a long while. Used to be the main DMV office in Montpelier was the only one where you could get photo licenses, and doing anything there involved waiting in line for ages, and it cost more. I don’t drink, so I didn’t need photo ID to buy booze, and the photoless license was accepted as ID in-state for most other purposes, so it was not a big concern. But, out of state, trying to use a piece of cardstock that had been run through a dot-matrix printer as ID was endless fun, let me tell you.

        8. Jhon

          We had an outbreak of voter ID here in PA recently. The Speaker of the PA House of Representatives bragged in public about how it would deliver the state for his party. After a lot of stink and confusion, a judge ruled that ID could be requested, but not required.

        9. Annie

          I wish they’d do that here. A state ID is required here.

          I personally think it’s unconstitutional. It’s a very blatant way to prevent as many poor folks as possible from voting. The majority of people for whom this law is a problem are minorities that are more likely to vote democrat.
          But, gee, I wonder *why* they vote democrat. Maybe because the GOP pulls bullshit like this and like the ridiculous amount of gerrymandering we have here?

          “They probably won’t vote for us as things stand now. I know! Let’s find ways to prevent them from voting at all! That way if they do manage to get the ID necessary to vote, we can be DAMN sure that they’ll never vote for us for the rest of their lives! I’m brilliant!”
          Makes no sense at all.

        10. Idontcarenomore

          My mother never would drive a car. She just refused. I got her a non-drivers license ID at the NY DMV with her picture on it. Worked fine for check cashing and all.

      6. Reltzik

        The sensible (boring) solution is to go to the cops and explain that Becky’s documents (which are technically her property) are locked up in there. After a bunch of fact-checking (including some departmental talky-talk with the Bloomington police), either she’d be allowed in to get them or the cops would go in to retrieve them.

        … assuming that fundie Toedad even GOT her a birth certificate and SSN.

        1. Cerberus

          Oof, that is so nerve-racking to me to even think about. Cops don’t tend to be friendly to homeless or poor queer youth. And the thought of dealing with lots and lots of cops to try and do things properly would have me freaking the fuck out if I was Becky (worried they’d ask her for her legal address to have documents sent, worried they’d start harassing her, worried that her case would get lost in the shuffle because it’d literally be everyone’s lowest priority).

          Assuming best case scenario and she’s able to contact that one nice cop that was guarding outside Toedad’s room and get his help, that still involves a few weeks to a few months of cross-talk between them and La Porte Police Department who would definitely be the types to dither on this as a means of fucking over the “(slur for lesbian) who got a good man locked up on some bullshit”. So lots of waiting and possibly not even a notice if the case got lost and never picked up again (it’s happened before to friends of mine. If the cops don’t wanna investigate your case, they won’t. They won’t even try.).

          So to me, that would be the more nerve-wracking series of comics.

        2. Annie

          Agreed. I live in a city with a population of nearly 400k, so a fairly decent sized city, and I wouldn’t trust most of the officers here to handle a case like Becky’s appropriately. In a proper small town like La Porte? No. I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw one of their cars.

        3. thejeff

          The only way I’d even approach that is if they could talk Hank into helping out. Having a respectable lcoal adult smoothing the way would help a lot, especially in this kind of small town situation. And I suspect Hank could be persuaded, especially with Jocelyne’s help.

          But for comic purposes, a raid on the MacIntyre house is much better. 🙂

          That said,

        4. Reltzik

          I WAS kind of thinking that the police who arrested Toedad in the first place would be sympathetic and helpful, but you’re right, they’d be hard to track down and there could be a lot of heel-dragging from the ones in La Porte.

        5. Random832

          Unless they were state police (not impossible, since they were technically [barely] on a state highway and outside Bloomington city limits) they have no jurisdiction.

        6. trlkly

          But they do have the blue brotherhood*, where they can get fellow officers to do them a favor.

          *It has another name, but I can’t remember it.

        7. Kutharos

          That would make sense in the real world, but we need drama. And I just love seeing Joyce squirm

      7. TamiDOA

        We have to stop going around on this yet again so…

        Per the S.S.A. form to get a replacement SS Card:

        “To apply for a replacement card you must provide one document to prove your identity.
        …
        As proof of your identity, you must provide a U.S. driver’s license; or U.S. State-issued non-driver identity card; or U.S. passport.

        If you do not have one of the documents above or cannot get a replacement within 10 work days, we may accept other documents that show your legal name and biographical information, such as a U.S. military identity card, Certificate of Naturalization, employee identity card, certified copy of medical record (clinic, doctor or hospital), health insurance card, Medicaid card, or school identity card/record.”
        …
        WE CANNOT ACCEPT A BIRTH CERTIFICATE, HOSPITAL SOUVENIR BIRTH CERTIFICATE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD STUB OR A SOCIAL SECURITY RECORD as evidence of identity.”

        Assuming Becky doesn’t have a driver license or state ID card and she probably had to surrender her school ID when she was removed, then only thing she might have is a health insurance card, (unless Toedad’s church is on of those that doesn’t believe in medicine and/or insurance).

        If she doesn’t have a health insurance card, then breaking in to her own home is probably her best choice.

        And besides, it’s more fun! 🙂

        1. Raibean

          Where is it that you can’t use a birth certificate as identifying information? I live in CA, and you usually have to combine it with a photo ID (like a state ID or a driver’s license), but it’s definitely on there.

        2. Raibean

          Just last year, I used my birth certificate to get a new copy of my SS Card.

        3. TamiDOA

          Gee, a U.S. government department that doesn’t follow it’s own written rules. No wonder there’s so much identity theft. (Apparently it’s easy to fake birth certificates since they vary so much)

        4. Ana Chronistic

          yeah, there’s a big scam going on now with New Jersey-issued birth certificates

        5. Cerberus

          That’s the part. The part she most definitely doesn’t have. Remember, Becky doesn’t have a driver’s license and getting a state photo ID license is so much painful bullshit (my girlfriend is legally blind and so had to get one of these and it took her upwards of a year or two to finally get due to various bureaucratic hurdles).

        6. John

          Weird. What state? I’ve been a licensed driver longer than I’ve been a legal adult, so I’ve never had to deal with it myself, but I’ve had to take a couple of girlfriends who didn’t drive to get IDs, in two different states (Vermont and NC), and it was just a trip to the DMV just like a driver’s license, except easier because there wasn’t any test.

        7. Cerberus

          California. At the end it involved going to some random backend office that was very difficult to navigate to by bus. Her situation was probably made extra difficult by having abusive parents with terrible filing system who demanded favors simply for “trying to find” paperwork to make it easier for her like her ss-card, birth certificate, and passport.

        8. Greenygal

          Yeah, I have a photo ID, and it’s never been more work than it would be to get a driver’s license. I’m not saying this would be easy for Becky, mind you, it involves a birth certificate and so on, and if she was going through the process anyway she’d probably want a driver’s license. But it’s not automatically a hard thing to do if you have those documents.

      8. Skizz

        Also clothes, money, treasured possessions, loads of pictures of Joyce growing up…

    2. figureaddict

      Hells yes

    3. Skizz

      It is where I said it should be going weeks ago, thank eff for that.

  3. Lawdie

    Oh no.

  4. Leorale

    YESSSSS
    I’m with Becky on this one. I was so hoping. Will they wear catsuits like in AxCop??

    1. inqntrol

      They need money for those. First they break in, get the money, and will wear them in the next heist, if there will be another one.

      1. Leorale

        So they enjoy the first heist so much that, instead of returning to school or getting a minimum wage job, they go mad with power, and start robbing more houses?

        1. inqntrol

          What? It happens sometimes.

        2. Reltzik

          Nonono, you go to school anyway as part of your cover.

          I recommend majoring in art history. That’s where the real money is.

      2. Screwball

        LOL first processor image;
        They break into Becky’s house, take some of Toedad’s money, have a quick look for her ID, then escape…

        They come back later to have another look for her details, this time wearing skin tight cat suits they brought using the money from last time, because they “have to do it properly…

        …They get arrested for breaking & entering… 😛

        Actually, I think a few people might like that image, of Becky & Joyce in skin tight cat suits. Few might even like Jocelyn in 1 too…

        1. Sunny

          Is this a thinly veiled request for the artistically gifted among the readership to produce some such images? If so, allow me to join the petition.

        2. Ana Chronistic

          gimme a sec, there’s something I need to do

    2. KingMonster

      Except rather than buying cat suits, they rub cat fur on their bodies and they turn into cat people, then when one of them bashes the door down, door juice gets on one of them and he/she turns into a door person. Then, a random mole man or whatever pops out and that’s when Becky “CHOPS HIM UP!!!” Also, a winged T-rex dragon with machine guns in space.

      Think I could ever write a comic of Axe-Cop?

    3. Prinnyramza

      One day Becky got into a relationship with a friend’s classmate by the name of Dina. Dina however got into a fight with a dinosaur. Some of the dinosaur blood got onto her turning her into DINAsaur soldier.

      1. KingMonster

        Okay, that story is WAY better than the one I fished out of my head.

    4. Jhon

      The anime Cat’s Eye

      1. Jhon

        Sisters! Uncatchable thieves! In spandex!

  5. Stephen R. Bierce

    *plays the Mission Impossible theme on the jukebox*

    1. gkheyf

      *becky sings along*

    2. Stephen R. Bierce

      * Followed by -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea2nFJDC3ao *

      1. Stephen R. Bierce

        * And to round it off -> https://youtu.be/TjbfsKaG86g *

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Per Becky’s previous retrieval mission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDsfou6UfjU

        2. Jacket

          Darn it Steve, We need some REAL heisting music!

          https://youtu.be/7P_qvg3wL5o?t=7s

    3. Screwball

      Do you mean the original TV theme, or do you mean the newer movie version?

      1. Stephen R. Bierce

        Probably the one from the second series of the 1980s.

  6. gkheyf

    is this what i missed out on with ‘sisterly bonding’???

    1. Annie

      It’s making me really wish I’d had a sister instead of a brother.

  7. lia

    …what kind of writer is jocelyn again?

    1. JessWitt

      She writes from experience. As in she experiences first, then writes about it.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        I hope she’s not planning to write a murder mystery then.

        1. JustCheetoDust

          That’s a pretty big jump from a B&E.

    2. Tacos

      Crime serial writer perhaps?

    3. Rukduk

      White Collar crime stories about museum robberies and diamond thievery. They’re really good and refreshingly don’t have a smarmy James Bond type womanizer as the main character.

    4. cesium133

      A female version of http://content.randomenthusiasm.com/91ffWTEeG.jpeg . She needs material for her novel, The Big Heist.

      1. JustCheetoDust

        Joyce should just keep adopting sisters until they have enough characters for a caper story.

        (or no need to stop there, whatever)

        1. Deanatay

          Brown’s 11?

    5. Ana Chronistic

      one who follows the PROPER writing guidelines: “Know what you write”

      so how better to know than trying

    6. Bagge

      The RAD kind of writer

    7. Emperor Norton II

      The kind that repeatedly gets asked to write article without being paid for it, because she’ll get exposure instead!

  8. Schpoonman

    New Joyce freak-out panel?

    1. gkheyf

      more like a *…processiiiiing???* panel

      jesus would rob becky’s house…right?
      so confused…

      1. Bicycle Bill

        Jesus would just command the stone to roll ba…..
        Jesus would just command the door to unlock.

        1. TamiDOA

          Wait, how many times do we need to go around with the trumpets to make the walls fall down? I lost count!

        2. trlkly

          13. But it takes 7 days (7 times on the last day).

      2. Rukduk

        Spirit of the law, not letter of the law was his big things and one of the reasons the Pharisees disliked him. He would say it is fine.

    2. JessWitt

      You think you’ve seen it all and then whoosh *pale fainty Joyce*

    3. Shiro

      Poor girl’s heart can’t take much more of this

  9. meanderling

    Yisssss heist time.

  10. cesium133

    All the best heists are planned over chicken fingers.

    1. Leorale

      And planned over tented fingers, too. Both.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Get In The Robot, Joyce!

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          “Joyce no baka!”

        2. Screwball

          She mustn’t run away…

        3. Tacos

          Man we are so borked if Joyce initiates Third Impact.

        4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Compare Joyce’s I need my femurs to live eyes to those of (NSFW) Giant Naked Rei.

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Like in Reservoir Dogs?

  11. Natsu

    I am both becky and joyce here. if my older sis said this becky if younger sis joyce

  12. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    I was going to write a long thing about what we do and don’t know about Becky’s home and Indiana law, but just don’t have the energy.

    Besides, ignorance has never stopped us before.

  13. Nono

    Wouldn’t most of the stuff be in a safe? I’m not sure how they’d get it out of there without guessing a number combination.

    1. Anna

      Not everyone has a safe it may just be in a file cabinet most everyone in my family just shoves it in there.

      1. JustCheetoDust

        This line of thinking is why we won’t see Becky operating a thermal lance.

        1. Reltzik

          This not being Nukees is why we won’t see Becky operating a thermal lance.

        2. quarktime

          What about robot ants? Can Becky haz robot ants?

        3. John

          Only if Dina gets the robot dinosaur.

          (Wow, there are still other people who read Nukees?)

        4. JustCheetoDust

          …that, and not being able to afford one.

      2. DSL

        Toedad’s either the “have a safe” type or the “put it in a mayonnaise jar and bury it in the backyard” type.

    2. cesium133

      A number selected by Ross? Almost certainly 1-2-3-4-5.

      1. Rukduk

        I was thinking 1-3-7-1-2. 1 for the one God, 3 for the trinity, 7 for days of creation, and 12 for either the twelve tribes or twelve disciples. Then again, I may be accrediting to much intelligence to Ross.

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Nah, based on his favorite nasty bible verse.

      3. Carolyn

        That’s amazing! I have the same combination on my luggage!

        1. TamiDOA

          Same as half the world’s passwords. It’s obviously due to “extraterrestrial influences”. 🙂

          (The other half is “password”, of course.)

    3. Lapin

      The typical safe used for storing that information is usually small enough it can fit somewhere where it can be easily hidden, such as in a drawer or a closet. Heavy, but easily moved, and they’re not as hard to get into as you would think. When my mother lost the key to the safe with all our stuff inside, including my original birth certificate which I needed for legal reasons, my cousin got it open with a crowbar and a drill.

      1. Dean

        According to the TV show Auction Hunters, 9 out of 10 document safes can be opened by dropping them on one corner onto a concrete floor from about 5 feet.

      2. quarktime

        If it’s a Sentry safe, just take a big neodymium magnet, put it in a tube sock, and slap it on the upper left corner of the door. You might have to fiddle with the position, but the sock helps you move the magnet. That pulls back the solenoid and unlocks the safe door.

    4. Ana Chronistic

      Safes are in general tested by amount of time it would take a professional team to break into them… which may or may not include actually trying to figure out combinations or locks…

    5. Viktoria

      It could easily be in a shoebox. Or in an unlocked safe, because he’s lazy. Or in a safe with the combo written on the back, or with the default combo, or 3-1-7, or a combo Becky knows because it’s the code he uses for everything. Or they just take the whole safe and break into it later in the privacy of Jocelyn’s appt.

      I mean, there’s about 12 different problems with their plan that I can think of while drunk, but the storage for the documents is not one of them.

      1. Reltzik

        See, THAT’S why they’re not good at planning this. They’re not drunk enough to see the problems! If they were drunk during this planning stage, they’d end up seeing more problems.

        1. thejeff

          It’s important though to remember to go over the plan again once you’ve sobered up.
          Booze is good for brainstorming, but not for the fine details.

        2. Leorale

          Write drunk, edit sober.

        3. TamiDOA

          So I’ve been doing it backwards? That explains a lot!

        4. Reltzik

          But…

          …. but….

          … writers are too health-conscious to drink to excess! Or overindulge in any other mind-altering drugs!

    6. Annie

      Documents for my family are in a fire safe box. And the key to it is taped to the top. But the key is unnecessary, really. I could pick the lock with a slotted screwdriver.
      We figure it’s far more likely that there’d be a fire (we live in the middle house in a row of about 10 townhouses. All it would take is one neighbor being careless for the whole row to catch fire.) than a break-in and the robber stealing those documents.

  14. StClair

    IT’S LIKE CHRISTMAS

    1. inqntrol

      Instead of someboy else bringing your presents, you get them by yourself.

      1. Leorale

        So it’s like grownup Christmas.

        1. Bagge

          STOP BEING DEPRESSING

        2. Leorale

          NEVAIR

  15. Aislashu

    I LOVE BECKY’S FACE IN THIS

  16. Time Sage

    Technically speaking it’s not breaking in if it’s yours. It’s just damaging your property….

    1. Lapin

      Actually, it’s not hers. Becky is a legal adult who willingly moved out of the residence (when she ran away, but that’s how it could be seen), and she no longer has any legal right to enter a property that is either still in her father’s name, or the bank’s.

      1. Tandel

        I wonder if she could sue for it? It’s not like she doesn’t have plenty of ammo for a lawsuit, or so I would think.

        1. Lapin

          From what I’ve experienced, if the house has indeed been taken back by the bank, she could approach said bank and explain the situation, and ask to be let in, with someone from the bank to supervise, so she could collect her personal belongings and legal paperwork. The motivation would be they would look terrible if it was publicized they refused her, and would look very kind and sympathetic if they complied. However, the downside would be if they refused, they would know she was attempting to enter the house, and would probably post a guard.

          If the house is still considered a place of interest to the police in the matter of the crime, they’ll have a seal on the door. Getting in will be much more tricky and way dicier if they get busted.

        2. Cerberus

          Ayup. Also, she’s got no identification on her. Even if she had legal ownership of the house (which she doesn’t), she’s got no means of proving she’s Becky MacIntyre. Like, maybe if she’s lucky and she’s still got the Detective’s name and number from her kidnapping case, she can use that, but otherwise, she’s in a metric buttload of trouble if she gets caught.

        3. JQuire

          So….that’s counting on the officer to put a lot more effort into this than I expect them to take. In my experience they take your word for ‘I live here’ unless there’s a reason to believe otherwise. She’s got two people to vouch that it’s the house all her stuff is in and I bet there’s even some mail for her in the post box that would help seal the deal.

        4. trlkly

          Not if you’re a minority.

          Sure, Becky’s is one where she can hide her minority status–except it’s probably gotten all over town.

          It all depends on whether the police are bigoted bongos or not. If they want to make it hard, they can.

        5. JQuire

          Yeah, my experience only comes from working on DV cases, so what do I know?

          I’m kind of up in the air as to how visible Becky actually is. On the one hand, shooter probably made the local news. On the other, Becky may not have been. On the third hand, how big is a town like La Porte actually? On the fourth hand…where are all these hands coming from?

        6. JQuire

          Sorry. That was me coming in snippy there…but the non-action on *this exact kind of situation* has often frustrated me and all the ‘omg Becky could go to jail!!’ is also frustrating to me because of that original frustration!

        7. thejeff

          ~20,000 people. I’d be shocked if nearly everyone didn’t know the story by now.

          Of course, amusingly, the cops shouldn’t simultaneously be able to discriminate against her for being a lesbian and deny her access because they don’t know who she is.

        8. Cerberus

          Ah, but shoulds don’t matter in harassment, only what they can get away with. And Becky’s got no power. From my experiences mentoring trans and queer youth, cops love to technically break the law to harass a (slur for trans person) when they can. And I’ve personally seen some egregious forms of it in person.

        9. Cerberus

          Which is to note that that’s where my biases and fears come from. The cops are supposed to X… but, in my experience, supposed tos don’t get you so far when you’re seen as that degenerate sinner that needs to be taught a lesson.

      2. Shiro

        Hmm…are you sure about that? What’s the legality around renouncing a legal residence without taking up another one or being evicted?

        1. Tandel

          It’s a good thing I didn’t go into law. But with being held at gunpoint and kidnapped and all, I’d be surprised if she didn’t have any legal recourse to extract things from Toedad. Though affording a lawyer may well be the barrier there.

        2. Lapin

          If she got a sympathetic judge, yes, she would be considered in the right. But we’re talking about the conservative midwest and what could become a very high-profile case that could launch the careers of some judges/DAs, etc, and legally, this could easily turn into a clusterfuck of epic proportions for Becky. I’m looking at worst-case scenarios, really.

        3. Cerberus

          Yeah, last thing a conservative judge from a fundie-dominated town wants is to face attack ads over how he ruled for a lesbian over a good Christian man who was just trying to help her.

        4. Annie

          And he wasn’t just trying to help her. He was trying to save his only child, a motherless child, from the fires of hell.

          I know a great many people (mostly family) that would definitely be on Toedad’s side.

      3. NickS

        However – she still has a right to recover any property of hers within the house, such as clothes or id papers/forms, so unless they take stuff that isn’t Becky’s it will likely be viewed as a misdemeanor with a side order of property damage to pay for. Though I’d probably just try and get the cops to retrieve my stuff instead

        1. Reltzik

          Except unless she has a bill of sale or proof of ownership for any of that — and she probably doesn’t for things like clothes — then she can’t PROVE that it’s hers and not dad’s. And yes, fundie jerkface parents HAVE been known to use their ability to take away their kids’ property as a way of controlling them, secure in the knowledge that no crime can be proven.

        2. Cerberus

          This. Becky and Jocelyne are taking a big risk here, though with Jocelyne I put better odds for their success than if Joyce and Becky tried to do it alone.

        3. Annie

          Not just fundie parents. Toxic, asshole parents of all flavors have used that tactic. My mother did and she’s just a run-of-the-mill Narcissist.
          I had absolutely no way to prove that I ever had a diamond ring from my paternal grandmother, a gold cross from my great-aunt, a china doll from my aunt, or several beaded coin purses and handbags from my great-grandmother, let alone that my mother ever had them. I can’t even be sure if she still has them or if she sold them the first chance she got (which makes me weep for those purses. They were from my great-grandma’s days as a flapper in the 20s. They were expensive even in the 20s, well cared for, and gorgeous! I doubt my mother knew that, so if she sold them, she likely only got $10 for them as if they were cheap costume jewelry type pieces).

          And if I couldn’t prove those precious, unique items were mine, nor that she even had them, I sure as hell couldn’t prove ownership of my clothes, books, stuffed animals, movies, furniture, etc.

        4. Cerberus

          Yeah, I lucked out that I had all of my crucial documents when everything went to shit, cause everything at that home is now completely inaccessible unless I want a one-way trip to reparative therapy.

          Led to some awkwardness for work when they needed a childhood photo for a cute art project they had all of their teachers participate in and I literally had nothing left of that period of my life to give.

        5. Cerberus

          Also, so many *hugs* for awful moms.

        6. Annie

          Aww, that sucks.
          I’m grateful that only one of my parents is a toxic jackass. I still have access to my dad’s pictures and such of me.

          I haven’t fully cut off contact with my mother, but I only see/talk to her a couple times a year. The only reason I haven’t cut her off completely is because of my grandparents. I can’t bring myself to force them to choose between inviting their daughter to Thanksgiving and such or their granddaughter and only great-grandson. I just can’t do it.

          But once my grandparents have passed on, I’m fully cutting off my mother. My brother, independently, chose the same thing and feels the same way.

          But even though I’m still somewhat in contact with my mother, I have no access to childhood mementos that she has. She’s a manipulative bongo that loves making the people closest to her miserable. So if I asked for a copy of a specific photo or something, she would use that against me in any way she could. Or she would use it as a way to try to become more involved in my life, and use that access to make me miserable and to try to get info on my dad and step-mom.

          She also doesn’t live in my childhood home anymore. My ex-step-dad got the house when they divorced. But my mother and ex-step-dad are in frequent contact with each other, so I couldn’t ask him if she left anything behind of mine either.

          Hugs to you, too. Toxic, awful mothers suck. And the fact that society in general says things like ‘there’s no love as strong as a mother’s love’ and tends to think one of the worst things one can do is be disrespectful to her/his mother sucks. I’ve had friends and acquaintances that cheered, encouraged and supported friends that cut contact with an abusive father, but scold me because I won’t “try to forgive” my mother or won’t “accept her as she is.”
          Newsflash, folks, there are mothers that DON’T love their children. There are also mothers that are so abusive and toxic that it doesn’t matter one little bit if they love their children or not.
          My mother doesn’t love me. She’s incapable of feeling real love for anyone but herself. I owe her no respect or kindness at all.

      4. Time Sage

        I actually asked have a friend who used to be a lawyer, and noted what what he told me already.

    2. Time Sage

      (That said this is actually legal grey area in this case)

      1. Lapin

        /Very/ grey, which is why I worry about the consequences they could all face, especially considering the area they live in.

        1. Deanatay

          From the movie “Fletch”:
          -Who’s the source?
          -Well, there we’re in kind of a grey area.
          -How grey?
          -Charcoal?

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        The problem may be if the local cops are homophobic buttopenings like some town residents we could name. But they might not be.

  17. Anna

    So either this will go well, or we will find our
    1. Becky’s dad really did lose it and we are walking into a hoarders nightmare
    2. Cops get called all shit breaks lose
    3. Becky get’s emotional about her mother and wonders about how she would feel about all this.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Nightmare scenario, Ross made bail.

      1. Mike

        Ross made friends with Blaine who made Ross’ bail

        1. Ana Chronistic

          also Ross has Wolverine’s healing powers

        2. Dean

          Also Ross is Galactus.

        3. Bagge

          “We have a Wolverine-Galactus ”
          “We have Joyce. She is…”
          “Even Joyce is no match for two douche-bags combined.”
          “She is friend with Amazie-girl.”
          “…this is going to hurt, right?”

      2. Kirby

        Ultimate Nightmare Scenario: Ross, John, Joyce’s Mom, Mary, Amber’s Dad, and… um… Ryan, I suppose, are forming The League of Supreme Evil Jackasses.

        Beginning their ceremony by sacrificing some of Joyce’s stuffed animals.

        1. podian

          …reminds me of Shortpacked!.

        2. Kirby

          Which was the intention!

      3. Reltzik

        Say hello to Becky’s two uncles and grandpa, who are ALSO fundie dickheads and ALSO extremely strong and ALSO going to be in that house at the same time and ALSO want to “save” Becky.

        1. Bagge

          *enter Joyce*
          *say goodbye to Becky’s two uncles and grandpa*

        2. Annie

          And ALSO gun owners.

        3. Anna

          Gun owners who are embarrassed as fuck about what their family member did with his fire arm and are currently removing all others from his property so he can’t use them if he gets out. (Cause not all gun owners are homophobic and hateful, I am Pan and own a gun.)

      4. Anna

        Aw fuck I didn’t even think of that. I wouldn’t think he would be offered bail because he brandished a deadly weapon on a campus and then kidnapped his daughter

      5. JQuire

        That’s assuming that he’s eligible for bail. In many places individuals charged with attempted murder/assault with a deadly weapon are not eligible for pretrial release.

  18. Lapin

    Yay on Jocelyne for actually being a useful, helpful adult, and a proper older sibling. Unlike some people. People who need their car stolen. People whose houses could use some “decoration” in the form of spray paint.

    1. Screwball

      Or even have their houses receive decorations in the for of the new car…

      …through the front wall, maybe through a few more walls, totaling both…

      Anyone know where to find some bricks & a certain house?

      1. Cerberus

        So that’s where John’s mustang is going to go…

        1. Willoughby Chase

          It wouldn’t fit in his arse … or would it?

  19. Al

    Jocelyn is definitely my favorite tbh

  20. NF

    Best. Faces. Ever.

  21. Rukduk

    Yessss!! Heist time!

  22. Plasma Mongoose

    Thou Shall Not Steal doesn’t apply when it is your stuff you are stealing.

    1. JessWitt

      Biblical loopholes.

    2. newllend(henryvolt)

      Hard to argue with that.

    3. Rukduk

      Holy shit but that is an amazing avatar, er, profile picture to go with that comment!

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Chillin’ out Azula is best Azula.

    4. 3oranges

      After all, if you can’t steal your own identity, whose can you steal?

    5. Deanatay

      Joyce: But… but… Laws! Morality!! Thou shalt not –
      Jocelyn: – leave thy best friend (and now sister) an anonymous non-citizen with no hope of living her own life?
      Joyce: …
      *sigh* Let’s go rob a house. 🙁

  23. Chengrel

    Couldn’t Becky just go to the police and say that she needs to get her documents? Or is there a reason they wouldn’t let her into the house?

    1. Incomitatus

      In all likelihood someone would have been appointed as a trustee for the property and required to inventory it. Becky’s possessions would have been turned over to her in time. Of course, time is the key. It hasn’t been that long.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        But that means we wouldn’t be able to see her get her papers before the 2020s.

        1. Incomitatus

          Plasma Mongoose: Precisely. That’s why I’m all on board for the Rob Oneself plan.

        2. figureaddict

          And if she gets caught with her own i.d., what are the authorities going to do then. “Yes ma’m, I see that it has your name and a photo of you on it, but does it belong to you?”

        3. Cerberus

          Which means she’s got a time limit when she breaks in.

    2. Tilty

      I would assume that she is trying to stay away from the police as much as possible, outside of when it was necessary at the hospital. She is living illegally in a dorm at a school she isn’t attending, and raising questions like, ‘Where are you living if you can’t access your home,’ won’t help her at all.

    3. Leorale

      The local police might be bros within the church (and against Becky), or there could be some law thing that I don’t know. Even if that’s not the case, though, Dumbing of Age still applies.

      Besides, breaking into the house is way cooler than asking the cops.

      1. Cerberus

        I guarantee the local cops are bros with the Church. A city with as large Christian population as La Porte makes it very unlikely that the cops aren’t “good Christian boys” of one flavor or another.

        1. Leorale

          There you go, then. It’d be a poor choice to tell a bunch of very-probably-homophobes what you’re going to do. (In general, marginalized people can’t just trust the local cops to do the right thing. That’s often a big part of being marginalized.)

          If the characters thought the cops might be OK, then maybe they’d ask by phone and give them the wrong date, or they could try to convince Hank to ask the cops for them, or whathaveyou… but none of that would be nearly as fun to write or read as a great big sisterly heist!

    4. Annie

      I’d bet that she’d need proof that it IS her home and/or that she is who she says she is. Which is in the house.

  24. LadyThrimbletrimmer

    Jocelyn is the best. I love how many fantastic trans ladies are in this comic, and I LOVE the facial expressions!

    1. Cerberus

      Yeah, she’s also the most diabolical thinker of the group (in a good way). Just a good cunning mind for solving problems or keeping herself safe. And that makes her all sorts of awesome and fear for the world if Carla and Jocelyne ever team up.

      1. Annie

        Omg, I now need this to happen. So bad!

        1. Cerberus

          Pat McCrory’s bathroom would be covered in cream pies and toilet paper without any sign of a break-in.

      2. thejeff

        You can tell she’s a diabolical thinker by the way she steeples her fingers while announcing the plan. That’s how all the best diabolical thinkers do it.

        1. Jhon

          “Gendo Ikari pose”.

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          “She’s got Gendo Ikari Eyes …”

  25. Shiro

    Tag yourself I’m the Becky friend

    1. LadyThrimbletrimmer

      I’m the Jocelyn friend

  26. Stephen R. Bierce

    * Followed by -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea2nFJDC3ao *

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      OOPS.

  27. Cephalo the Pod

    I really realy like, like, just the entire second half of this strip.

  28. Lauralot

    Those last two panels may be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.

  29. Tandel

    Panels five and six… you are RIPE for editing into things. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have work to do.

    1. ChrisHerself

      I went straight for panel four.

      https://imgur.com/oUxEZXc

      1. Bagge

        +1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1

  30. TheLurkerAbove

    Joss really is the best! Stop making her so awesome, I can’t handle so much awesome! *explodes*

  31. Barf Ninjason

    Josh broke Joyce, a hey hey

    1. Shiro

      *Jocelyne

  32. FuryOfFirestorm

    Get Amazi-Girl, Carla, and Sal in on this, and make this its own series:

    “Bad-Ass Chicks Fucking Shit Up”

  33. newllend(henryvolt)

    Okay I already liked Jocelyn before but now I’m completely jumping on the band wagon, SHE RULES !

  34. TrueVCU

    The contrast between Becky and Joyce’s reactions has made my week

  35. Moonshine McGee

    So how the hell would this not have been addressed when the police processed Becky?

    This plot arc is getting pretty stupid.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      Point, you think those would all be stuff the authorities would have given her if she just asked.

      1. Leorale

        Becky was a little bit coming off of attempted kidnapping, almost-death, being disowned, and flipping off dad to think of asking for stuff from the cops. One would think the cops should’ve asked her; that one cop at the door was very sympathetic.

    2. AeromechanicalAce

      I think you mean AWESOME.

      But in all seriousness, that IS a good question.

    3. RP

      Would the cops really have addressed it then though? Becky’s legally an adult so it’s not like she would have been assigned a case worker to walk her through everything she needs to do now that her dad is in jail. The police don’t really have an obligation to make sure adult victims have a place to go and/or the stuff they need once the crime has been dealt with, do they?

      5 bucks says this whole thing ends with some authority figure asking why Becky didn’t just call the cops and ask to get into the house if she needed to and Becky saying something to the effect of her not knowing she *could* ask. Kind of like the time she “snuck” back into her old dorm room only for the folks there to help her with her stuff.

    4. tim gueguen

      Joyce and Becky live in La Porte, Indiana, and the La Porte police department didn’t have anything to do with Ross’s arrest, which happened someplace in the Bloomington area where the Indiana University campus was located. I doubt the Bloomington Police or the Indiana State Police, whichever arrested Ross, asked Becky anything about her circumstances. They probably only asked for a contact number of some sort. Don’t forget that Becky has been raised in a relatively insular subculture, and probably didn’t have a clue before she was kicked out of Anderson that she needs things like her Social Security Number.

    5. Otera

      They might have just made due with name and date of birth. I don’t drive, so I don’t have ID I can keep in my wallet (dude, I am SO not walking round with my passport on me, sorry, Copper!!) and that’s what they’ve done for me if they need identification. (never arrested, just in cars with idiots from time to time)

      1. Time Sage

        You can get a state issued ID card that looks very similar to a drivers license at your local drivers center.

    6. Cerberus

      Given my admittedly limited experience with cops (and why I’ve lost all faith in cops ever being worth a spit for queer folk), usually the responding officer taking your statements doesn’t really have much time/doesn’t really care to answer other questions or offer any aid in the aftermath of a crime. Just a bunch of “tell us what happened” with a lot of “and what did you do to deserve it” and little in the way of practical follow-up advice.

      I doubt they even thought about the practicals of what she was going to do now.

      1. thejeff

        No, but cops always ask for ID and run things through the computers. Even of the victims. How much they would have helped, if at all, is an open question, but it would have come up.

        1. Cerberus

          Yeah, but if she was forced to say she didn’t have ID, sorry, but Toeded and Joyce were able to confirm she was who she said she was, would the cops be likely to offer advice on how to get said ID or would it be more of a vague, oh, hey, you should probably work on getting a proper copy of your ID, citizen, sort of thing?

        2. thejeff

          “It’s probably in my house. Hey, Dad had a key on him, right?”

          Yeah, probably wouldn’t work.

          Obviously Becky hasn’t played enough D&D (satanic influences, obviously). When you beat the BBEG, you go through his pockets. She should have just looted the keys then. 🙂 Before the cops showed.

        3. Lin

          In most states, the only way you HAVE to give police ID is if it was a driving related infraction and you need to prove that you have a driver’s license. It’s legal to not have ID and it’s legal to not show ID to cops, especially as a victim.

        4. thejeff

          It’s more complicated than that, though that’s generally technically true.
          Cops don’t always accept it and you may wind up face down on the pavement in cuffs arrest and/or spending the night in jail. Cops have a lot of latitude in ensuring compliance, even when you have the legal right to not comply.

          Regardless, they’re going to ask. It’s going to come up. Nor is it likely that Becky decided to make a principled stand on her right not to show ID, rather than just say, “I don’t have any”. Which I’d expect to lead to questions and probably advice, if not any actual assistance.

    7. Willoughby Chase

      Two different sets of police in different jurisdictions.

      The police at IU wouldn’t have needed to search toedad’s premises. They had all they needed to make the pinch.

      They may have suggested to Becky that she get in touch with the La Porte authorities. But that’s about it.

  36. RP

    Those last three panels are THE BEST! Can my Gravatar somehow been those three panels? They are so PERFECT!

    1. No Name

      They can, but you might have to break out Photoshop to make them all fit and be visible.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

        1. RP

          EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

        2. inqntrol

          Well done!

        3. ChrisHerself

          YESS

        4. Screwball

          Damn, beat me to it. Oh well, I got plenty of Gravatasr to choose from…

        5. Bagge

          *MUST RESIST URGE TO CHANGE AWESOME GRAVATAR TO THRICE-AWESOME GRAVATAR!!!*

        6. Regalli

          That is PERFECTION.

        7. starkruzr

          OH MY GOD THIS IMAGE FOR PRESIDENT OF EVERYTHING FOREVER

        8. RP

          I actually have no idea how to post here so that the Gravatar you made shows up, but I went and made an account so I could use it, so thank you SO MUCH!

  37. Cheshrin

    I can’t read Jocelyne’s face in panel four. Is that “I have waited my whole life to say these words, I am so ready, let me get my heist plans” or “GDI Ross why were you such a shitty controlling parent now I gotta do an illegal think to make sure my new sister has basic adulting supplies you motherfucker”? Or maybe it’s both?

    (Also, Becky has DEFINITELY been waiting her whole life to hear words like that. Joyce… not so much.)

    1. RP

      Obviously, the only thing in Jocelyne’s head in panel four is:

      “EEEEEEXCELENT”*

      *should be read in Mr. Burns’ voice

      1. Tacos

        Is there any other voice that could be read as? I think not.

        1. JustCheetoDust

          No other voice conveys “I have no idea what the hell to do with this trillion dollar bill.”

      2. OnyxIdol

        This also came to mind.

    2. Regalli

      I suspect it’s a little bit of both. On the one hand, “GDI I didn’t want to have to break into the asshole gunman’s house with my baby sisters HE MAY HAVE MORE GUNS,” but on the other hand, “this is so much cooler than the heist I was planning for before I inevitably get kicked out of the family”

    3. AgentKeen

      Jocelyne: All according to keikaku*.

      *Keikaku means “plan”

    4. OnyxIdol

      I was thinking the same thing, namely she has planned for something like this her entire life.

  38. JessWitt

    Man after a rough week of bigotry, some thieving hijinks to wash that bad taste out.

    1. inqntrol

      It’s not robbing when you get your own things back. So let’s call it repossession.

      1. JessWitt

        Right, right. It’s Becky’s stuff. Repo hijinks then.

  39. inqntrol

    Ways of getting in Becky’s house:
    1. Pick the door’s lock
    2. Climb through a window that Toedad accidentally left open
    3. Go down the chimney
    4. Find a spare key under the rug

    1. Bagge

      5. Scare door open with JOYCE-RAGE!!!
      6. Defeat door in riddle contest.
      7. Learn the elvish word for “Toeshaped Turd”

      1. inqntrol

        8. Deadpool style.

        1. JQuire

          9. call a locksmith.

  40. Wolf

    Dumbing of Triangle: DAY 24

    This… is the greatest strip I’ve ever seen.

    1. inqntrol

      Omg , Joyce’s face is so “This is so painful, but I enjoy it”. XD

    2. spriteless

      I didn’t think it could be done, but you proved me wrong!

    3. Dallas

      Damn you, Willis! Now we’re never gonna here the end of this from him!

      I mean look! He’s already started making Ads: http://imgur.com/I3piYoE

      1. Amazi-Girl impersonator

        Speaking of Which…

        1. ChrisHerself

          OMG that last one.

      2. Jacket

        Too late. He’s updated the changelog.

        See? I should be the protagonist here.

      3. podian

        “Added “Ross” as a playable character”

        What. WHY.

        1. Wolf

          Ross was in jail.

          I couldn’t pick Sal because she’s out of the robbery game

          I couldn’t pick Amazi-Girl because she was new vigilante enemy

          I couldn’t pick Carla, Walky, Danny, Joe, Jason, Dorothy, Billie, Ruth, or Dina because… Why?

          I couldn’t add Ethan, Jocelyn, Joyce, or Becky because they’re NPCs

          All that leaves is Mike and Blaine.

        2. Dallas

          No. That’s not at all why we picked Ross.

          Sal failed robbing a CONVENIENCE STORE. While Ross failed at his job, at least he tried going bigger. Not to mention his ability with a gun, and the fact that your GF will flip shit more if we add Sal.

          Amazi-Girl/Amber will probably turn us in.

          Carla, Ethan, Walky, Danny, Joe, Jason, Dorothy, Billie, Ruth, and Dina are all normal people.

          Jocelyn, Joyce, and Becky are doing this one-time only.

          Mike is fucking annoying, and not even creative at that. He’d more likely fail whatever job we take him on.

          Blaine hasn’t even stolen anything, and he STILL failed.

          Besides, Ross is getting along with the crew nicely. Right now he’s playing cards with Dragan, Bodhi and Bonnie.

    4. ICSM

      As soon as I saw the last panel, I Ctrl+F triangle to find this.

      1. Trina

        ME TOO, I was so excited for it AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED

  41. Whammy

    In the spirit of some of yesterday’s Hamilton inspired comments:

    It must be nice, it must be nice. To have Jocelyne on your side…

    Seriously, this is gonna be good. Or end up horrible. My only fear right now is this will be the cliffhanger before we shift to another POV for a bit and we cursed with the waiting.

    1. Yumi

      I MISSED Hamilton comments? Dammit.

      1. Yumi

        Also:
        At her own house!
        At her own house!
        Damn!”

  42. Mr. Random

    I see no moral inconsistencies here.
    Technically speaking, she is retrieving her belongings.
    Do not understand the Joyce face.

    1. Leorale

      Joyce is not a fan of doing crazy risky shenanigans, like breaking and entering.

      1. Cerberus

        It’s not the legality that bothers her most, it’s the rule-breaking. Rule-breaking is the sort of thing that leads good kids down the road of getting tattoos and jailbreaking her phone.

        She’s down for defying God and her family, but breaking actual rules is definitely a new boundary for her.

    2. Joy Baker

      Wording is super important, and to be fair, they’d still probably be arrested for breaking and entering if they got found out. And this is an immediate reaction to the words “robbing your own house”, not the thought-out calculated response.

      1. Mr. Random

        Isn’t the house still owned by Toedad? At least until the mortage payments are overdue, at which point, it becomes the legal property of the bank.
        But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have the legal right to be there.*

        *I think…

    3. Bicycle Bill

      I think it’s because while Joyce realizes deep down that it’s necessary, Jocelyne seems so … what’s the word I’m looking for — willing? Eager? to do it.

      That and the fact she casually uses the phrase ‘robbing your own house’ instead of ‘retrieving some of your belongings’.  Makes Joyce begin to wonder just what other transgressions of parental and/or religious rules her brother (remember, neither Joyce nor Becky know that Joshua is actually Jocelyne) might have cheerfully engaged in.

      1. pjeseb

        That face you make when you realize doing the right thing leads to breaking and entering.

      2. Cerberus

        Jocelyne’s evil grin here is just beautiful.

  43. Leorale

    Man, this meal went SO much better than Becky was expecting!

    1. StClair

      they still haven’t actually ordered anything, let alone eaten.

      1. Leorale

        True. Okay, that meal is *going* so much better than Becky expected. Still! She went from a Defcon 1 level of defensiveness to planning wacky hi-jinks with her new sibling.

    2. Tacos

      Now they just need them chicken fingers and they’re golden.

      1. Bagge

        NO! Joyce have sworn not to eat from the children’s menu. DRAMA!!!

        1. Sunny

          Chicken legs then?

        2. Rukduk

          Chicken strips? AKA chicken fingers for adults who don’t want to be seen as childish and care what other people think of them?

        3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Or “Chicken Tenders”

  44. Kater

    Cool Big Sis ™

  45. fogel

    LOVE Excited-Becky-Excited-Puppy-Face

  46. Aeron

    I’m going to keep refreshing the comments until I see a Gravatar using the final panel of this comic.

    1. Schpoonman

      You’re more likely to get Becky, honestly.

      1. Bagge

        I’d be surprised if we don’t have all three of them (including scheming!Jocelyne) within an hour

  47. Mike King

    Becky has never looked more like Sam from Sam and Max.

  48. Jackson

    The Voice of Reason just said it’s time to rob your own house. This is going to be fantastic.

  49. Emoroffle

    Becky’s big sister is a bad influence.

    1. Bagge

      It always makes me giggle when someone else is a bad influence on Becky. She tries so hard to be the irresponsible, goofy one and then she gets upstages like this.

      1. Emoroffle

        Becky: “I’m one bad girl, I stay up past 12.”

        Jocelyne: “Let’s go steal some shit.”

        Becky: “Here’s my official ‘bad girl’ license. You can have it.”

        1. Bagge

          Joyce: “You can’t be a bad girl, silly. You are a boy.”
          Jocelyne: “Yeah, about that…”
          *thirty seconds later. Joyce and Becky freakout faces*

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          “Also, I am your real father. And your real mother. And your child.”

          ‘Umm … which one of us?’

          “BOTH!“

  50. Mandy

    Ok, I understand her father was fucking insane, but literally why would she not have a key for her own fucking house?! I just cannot wrap my head around that one.

    1. Nonagon

      Most likely because she didn’t live there any more. I didn’t take my keys when I moved away.

    2. inqntrol

      I’m wondering about that too, maybe Toedad didn’t let her have her own house key? Since he only saw Becky as property I’m assusimg that he didn’t want to give her that much “liberty”. What am saying may be totally wong, probably we’ll find the answer in the coming strips.

      1. AgentKeen

        Lot harder to sneak out if you can’t get back in.

      2. Screwball

        There’s also the chance Becky didn’t get the chance to grab any keys before she left. She was escaping “Sexual Reprogramming planning” fun with Toedad… -_-

        Maybe there’s a key under the door? Or a rock?

        1. Cerberus

          I’m assuming she was never given them in the first place. Think about it. She had no car, she was home schooled and so never needed them to do the latchkey thing because her mom was always home and Toedad or a family friend was always chaperoning group trips out with friends.

          Even setting aside the fact that he’s an ultra-controlling asshole, there would be no need to give her a key, because she wouldn’t be used to a key, wouldn’t be coming home unless he picked her up from campus, and she’d be prone to lose it which would mean buying whole new locks and getting his arm sore beating her.

    3. Otera

      Growing up in NJ, in a fairly affluent town fairly close to NYC, my family never locked the door until around when my mother died. So, because Becky’s grown up in a quiet, sheltered midwest town, she may never have needed a key before.

    4. ischemgeek

      It’s pretty common for abusive jackass parents to withhold keys to the family home to their teenage children as a way of controlling their child’s coming and going – my folks did, under the guise of wanting to “protect” me from “bad influences” and similar nonsense. The idea being that if I didn’t have a key and therefore couldn’t get in unless they let me in, I’d have to be “more careful” (read: compliant) about letting them know where I was and what I was doing every waking minute of the day

      See also why I flat-out refused to carry a cell phone until I could afford to buy my own and pay for it with my own money – because my folks were the sort of uber-controlling Boomers who do things like put tracking bugs in their kid’s backpacks (in the era before widespread cell phone use), and use their kids’ cell phones to track them all the time. They installed keyloggers in the family computer to monitor all online activity and hidden cameras in the family vehicles to monitor my sister and I when we were on road trips and I could go on, but yeah – living under abusive parents in the 21st century is a life of constantly being watched, to the point that when we studied Orwell in high school, I genuinely didn’t understand what was so supposedly horrifying about being constantly watched and controlled because that was my life under my parents.

  51. Rodimiss

    This is everything I wanted. Bless you, Willis.

  52. J.A.J.

    When I glanced at the last few panels and thought that the strip would end with Jocelyn coming out. Wouldn’t these be the exact same facial reactions from Joyce and Becky?

    1. StClair

      very likely.

    2. J.A.J.

      “Jocelyne,” dammit.

  53. EvilWriter

    And Dumbing of Age becomes a heist movie.

    I love heist movies.

    Am I the only one who thinks Becky’s excited face makes her look just like Max from Sam & Max?

    “Gratuitous acts of violence are my forte!”
    “You’re an adorable little lesbian, Becky.”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      If you or any of your Impossible Beckforce are caught or killed, the Willis will deny any knowledge of your actions.

  54. Karin

    For the first time in forever is playing as Max volume in Becky’s head. Joyce however is frozen in the twilight zone. Congrats Joyce have a cookie.

  55. AutobotDen

    XD Joyce is all “JOSH AND BECKY NO” and Joss and Becky are all “JOSS AND BECKY YES”

    1. Silamy

      I am so glad I looked over the comments before posting -you said exactly what I was thinking. How much trouble are these three gonna be in?

  56. ChrisHerself

    IT GOT BETTER

    OMG JOCELYNE IS HARDCORE

  57. Xerxes93

    Jocelyne can’t keep topping herself in greatness, I am not emotionally equipped to handle her overwhelming awesomeness.

  58. pjeseb

    Oh, poor Joyce. Is it just me, or has her face gone pale in that last panel?

    1. Screwball

      Yep, there is definitely less colour to her face in the last panel…

  59. Ryan

    Cue heist explanation montage!

  60. Jenny Islander

    oyyyy call the cops, call the cops call the cops call the cooooopssssss

    “Like, my dad threatened me with a gun? And now he’s in jail? And he didn’t let me have a key? And I want my birth certificate and Social Security card and stuff, so I can go get a job and be a productive citizen? Can you, like, get me in, and watch while I get my stuff so you can say what I took? Thanks.”

    1. Leorale

      Well yes, but then we wouldn’t get to see wacky hi-jinks. Priorities!

    2. StClair

      (tw: language)

      non-zero chance the cop response will start with “little dyke bongo” and proceed from there.

      1. Leorale

        If she went the Smarting of Age route, I imagine she’d ask them over the phone.

    3. Kamino Neko

      ‘Your house, you say? Let’s see some id.’ ‘That’s what I need from there.’ ‘Uhuh, stop wasting my time.’

  61. My1DigitIQ

    This is how the best stories are made.

  62. Gevaisa

    So who doesn’t let their teenage kid have a key to the house where she lives? I mean, even for Toedad that seems odd.

    1. gooby

      Not having a key means you have to rely on your parent to let you come and go. Which means no sneaking out or missing curfew, lest you end up locked out in the cold all night. It’s not nearly as uncommon as it should be.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        I am working on a headcanon that one of the reasons Joyce and Becky are so close is that Ross did not trust her at home alone, so after her mother got sick Becky was always over at the Browns when Ross was at work.

    2. Cas madocki

      /whistles and waves/ never had a key and now I’m an adult living at home. And sometimes the door is locked.

    3. Conuly

      Somebody who wants to limit their child’s ability to travel independently. It’s not that uncommon among controlling families – really, given that she doesn’t have access to her birth certificate or SS card, I’d be surprised if she *did* have a key.

    4. trlkly

      I never really had a key, either. I was away at college without a car. I had no way of getting home unless my parents came and got me. Not because they were trying to control me. But because I didn’t really need the extra expense.

      I only carried a key to the house when I needed it, back at home when I knew I might get home when everyone else was out.

      1. trlkly

        “back at home” meaning “back in my home town.” stupid lack of editing…

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        One of the weird things I’ve learned since online forums started up is how much variation there is in how people do ordinary unimportant things. I always assumed everyone did X the same way I did because the answer was simple and obvious and there was no real reason to do it any other way.

        But I find out there is enormous variation. And people who will argue endlessly about things that don’t matter.

    5. Sunny

      Yeah, it seems weird to me as well, but makes perfect sense for the environment Becky grew up in. What shocks me a bit more is that so many here say they didn’t or don’t have a key of their own either and seem to consider it normal. I mean, I had my own key when I was 8 and never lost it.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        It might be that La Porte is the sort of place where no one locks their door normally, and Becky’s house is only locked because the owner is in prison.

        (Another topic for discussion, does Becky know the house is locked up because someone told her it was, or is she just assuming it is? Did someone tell her it was? Did they stop by and check? Or is it always locked when no one is home?)

        1. Otera

          I agree, it’s already been stated that it’s a quiet little town, so it makes sense to me that they wouldn’t lock the door. People who have lived in a city or live near a city are more likely to lock their doors than people in quiet little country towns, and suburbs are a mixed bag– growing up, my mom (grew up in the town she raised me in) only ever locked the door if we were going out of town, on the other hand my step-mother (grew up in NYC) locks the door even if people are home.

          As to her house being locked now, I can only assume that either Hank mentioned it on the way home, or Becky and Joyce drove past the house on their way over, or something to that effect.

    6. not someone else

      I never had one until I got my own apartment… my parents probably wouldn’t have denied me one (depending on how drunk my Mom would have been if asked), but I never had any use for one.

      Has anybody considered that she might just live in a rural area where people don’t lock their doors as much, or she just never had reason to leave and come back when her Dad wasn’t home? I mean, her social life consists of church buddies, she’s probably not going to be coming back from youth group at 1 AM on a school night.

  63. Snugglebutts

    Faaaacesssss

  64. Derek

    Uh apparently I owe Cerberus or a similar commenter an apology because they were right on the money and I said this idea was silly.
    So they’re not even going to ask permission from the police first??? Becky house is not a crime scene??

    1. tim gueguen

      Becky’s house is unlikely to be considered a crime scene. Unless they have strong evidence there’s something connected with Ross’s kidnapping scheme within they probably can’t get a warrant to search the house. Even if the police did it’s likely they’ve been and gone. If Becky is unlucky they did search the house but failed to secure it properly afterwards, and it has subsequently been ransacked.

    2. Cerberus

      Oh I thought it was dangerous as fuck as well, considering yeah, crime scene, nosy neighbors “watching out for that poor man’s house”, and likely unsympathetic local cops, but it might be the only method that would involve her getting her paperwork before the comic ends.

      1. Falcon

        It’s still Becky’s house, as the child of the owner who has made no effort to terminate her tenancy. Maybe I’m missing something, but the police can’t keep Becky out of her own house forever. It’s been over a week since the near-shooting.

        1. Cerberus

          She can’t prove it’s her house. And legally, according to the courts, it is not her house, it is Toedad’s house. And unfortunately cops have to follow the law.

          And she might even be more fucked if she did the thing she was supposed to do and updated her legal residence to be the Anderson dorm when she moved, cause then she wouldn’t even be able to point to legal residence to help.

          I mean, the cops and Toedad could be forced to allow her access to the house through civil lawsuit or motion, but that would either require a lawyer or a lot of research, and it would definitely take time (I remember there was someone a while back who worked with homeless queer youth suing for access to records and it sounded like a mess and half to deal with).

          Now, most people with relatives in jail, have good relations with them and access to their own keys and so a halfway decent defense attorney will go over how to transfer property if need be. More likely they would be expected to keep up payments or move to a new place and coordinate the legalities of the property transfer with the person in prison to make sure their family are okay.

          Kids with bad or hostile interactions with parents, no keys, and no legal proof of ownership of the house are assumed to be bad faith actors and that’s a good thing as it keeps unscrupulous asshole family members from swooping in and fucking over a family member’s stuff after they’re incarcerated.

          But it also means that Becky has no legal access to the house without a long and protracted lawsuit with no money to hire a lawyer.

        2. Reltzik

          I strongly doubt that Becky updated the residence on her ID….

          … as the DMV asks for your SSN when you do that.

        3. Cerberus

          Yeah, but Toedad might have taken care of that with her when she moved, because “it’s his job to ‘take care’ of his little girl” and deal with the big bad adult world for her so she can remain spiritually pure.

          Though you’re right that if he has a reflexive mistrust of the government, he may not have done that, but then she also has a strong possibility of not having her proof of HS certificates or birth certificate.

          She would still run into the problem of not being able to prove that she is who she says she is until she grabs some of the documents in her house.

        4. thejeff

          I’d say it’s highly unlikely Toedad changed her legal residence. That would be lessening his control over her. Official mail coming to him, instead of her, that kind of thing.
          Even now doing anything to officially disown or kick her out would likely be seen by him as giving up his control over her – even though he has no such legal control.

        5. Cerberus

          Good point, so that’s one thing in her favor, at least if she gets caught.

        6. Falcon

          It really doesn’t matter that it’s Toedad’s house, merely that she is legally supposed to have access to it.

          There might be trouble with arrest if they get caught, but no prosecutor worth his salt would try to prosecute a lady with Becky’s history for breaking and entering into the place she’s supposed to be living in anyway.

  65. Regalli

    Welp, this is gonna be a hot mess but I AM GOING TO ENJOY THE HOT MESS IT IS.

  66. Disloyal Subject

    The faces
    ALL THE FACES

  67. AgentKeen

    Becky Hums the Mission: Impossible Theme Part 2

  68. Raen

    …again, not saying this isn’t justifiable, just that I might try town hall first…

    1. Cerberus

      To be fair that will take some time for appointments to be made and documents to be mailed and forms to be processed.

      To be fair in the other direction, this is probably the most high-risk plan possible and they run a very good chance of getting their asses arrested or at least with Becky having to do some fast-talking and hoping she’s got a sympathetic cop instead of the usual mill of assholes who’d be very interested in showing that (lesbian slur) who got her daddy locked up whatfor.

      1. butting

        Becky fast-talking is fun

        But I’m thinking that Jocelyne gets to present as the friendly capable responsible non-threatening conforming (*cough*) face if the law shows up, hopefully with Joyce right beside her backing up everything this nice young man (grrr) is saying, with her face locked in the MOST hilarious of rictus grins.

        I like this plan, and see nothing that could go wrong with it.

        It suggests a fun coming-out scenario though: “You’re a girl?! WHAT A RELIEF, I thought you were a criminal!”

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Willis has sold out and is doing a crossover with Orange Is The New Black.

        “Dumbing Of Age: The Prison Years Weeks”

  69. 6Qubed

    last three panels:

    >:3c
    8D
    D:

  70. Victor Riley

    I’m loving evil(ish) Jocelyne…

    Well, she’s plotting and holding her hands like an evil villain, at least.

    1. inqntrol

      Reminds me a bit of Mr Burns. All she has to do is say “Excellent”.

  71. Cerberus

    Eeee, multi-response:

    Panel 1: Oh man, Jocelyne is prepared on this stuff… and it’s pretty obvious the reason why. Sure, some people might have this stuff memorized by chance, but I think what we’re seeing is her running down the mental checklist of what she’s been trying to corral into one place before she breaks down and just blurts out who she is in the middle of a fight.

    Also, bam, exactly what she has needed. A buddy whose got this adult stuff in hand who can help her sort through what exactly she needs to get in order so she can throw herself into that with her usual flurry of effort and energy (see how much she has thrown herself into catching up with Biology knowledge and canvassing the neighborhood for job opportunities.

    Panel 3: Woo! Confirmed. I thought Toedad was the type of controlling asshole to assume that since his daughter did not have a car or means of returning home on her own, that he didn’t need to give her her own key.

    It’s “nice” to see that confirmed, even though this went from tearing apart her home to tearing apart her home with a time limit, because her nosy curtain-twitching neighbors are sure to notice the three kids with rather high-visibility hair colors breaking into that “poor” Mr. MacIntyre’s place after the cops already tore through it…

    Hey, everyone is ready for Becky to be in another high-speed chase scene, right?

    Panel 4: 8o

    Okay, Jocelyne, apparently I owe you a massive apology. I presumed you were the type to play it safe, but apparently you’re also the type to throw all that careful protection away and risk getting arrested to support your poopyfaced new little sister.

    I’m impressed and extremely curious to where you’re going next. I’m starting to wonder if Jocelyne has felt pretty close to self-sufficient and is about ready to make the leap away from the family and so if she gets caught here, pfft, whatever, either she talks her way out of it or at least the hiding’s over.

    Also, I wonder if this is going to end up in her writing with all the names changed to protect the slightly guilty.

    Panel 5: And on this day, Becky fell in love with her second Brown.

    Panel 6: And there’s the obligatory Joyce BSOD! Oh, Joyce, given your sisters, I think your life is going to be an endless series of wacky hijinks.

    1. Bagge

      One thing that might play into it is that Jocelyne now know she has two things she didn’t think she had ten minutes ago – two sisters worth protecting who might be on her side against the rest of the family when the bag opens. This is Jocelyne’s chance to be the older sibling she wishes she had

      1. Cerberus

        Very true. Jocelyne’s older sibling is John. But here’s her chance to better than John right after John has revealed exactly why that last sentence needs no further elaboration.

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Hey, everyone is ready for Becky to be in another high-speed chase scene, right?

      Sal rides her motorcycle up the steps and screeches to a halt besides Amber. “We are needed. No time to explain. Get on and change into Amazi-Girl on the way.”

      1. Rukduk

        Amber: “But I’m not-”
        Sal: “Sorry, but you’ve never fooled me and we have no time for this argument.”

  72. Cerberus

    I’ll admit. I was not expecting Jocelyne to be the reckless law-breaker of the group. Though looking back, I should have predicted the cunning streak.

    I think the plan is hella risky, but I am so invested in seeing where the fuck this goes, because it’s going to be amazing.

    1. ischemgeek

      I’m not really surprised (even given my comment yesterday) because Jocelyn strikes me as a good Slytherin – a cunning pragmatist. What is the fastest and most likely to be effective way of getting your info which you need to build a life? Just going over there to get it! With two of the Browns (who are probably Upstanding Members of the Community) there as chaperones and to run interference on the cops.

      (I think Jocelyn realizes the personal documentation hole Becky is in – she’s in the catch 22 zone of need ID to get ID right now. Without something – even if it’s just a birth certificate – she can’t get anything.

    2. Bagge

      “Joyce, you have to be careful and lay low…. now, let’s break into a house.”

      Yup, she really threw us a curve ball there. I get the feeling that, in contrast to John, she HAS thought this threw. Multiple times. Joyce run the scenarios on shipping, Jocelyne on how to make a clean getaway from family.

      1. SDGlyph

        lolyup, that first quote is exactly what I was gonna comment too! XD

    3. Shiro

      I think I described it as a “glorious clusterfuck” to my boyfriend earlier. I can’t see it going anywhere good, but man it’ll be fantastic.

      Besides, you gotta have at least one ridiculously ill-advised adventure in your youth, right? (How old is Joss, anyway? She looked like a teeny toddler when Joyce was gestating…)

      1. Regalli

        I’m guessing from the “I’m hanging out with friends” bit during Freshman Family Weekend that she’s probably in the 23-26ish range. Old enough to be several years graduated, young enough that she might still have a friend or two attending and others who are fresh alumni visiting.

        In other words, the perfect age for ridiculously ill-advised glorious clusterfuck adventures, because oh man I am right there with you on it.

    4. Spencer

      It’s not really that crazy, is it? Sometimes you just get locked out of your house. Heck, they can probably spin it favourably to Carol as Becky being more self sufficient or something.

      I think Jocelyne’s point yesterday, that sometimes you just need to swallow your words to stay safe, and here, where she’s advising a little rule breaking because otherwise Becky’s screwed, aren’t, like, mutually exclusive or something.

      1. thejeff

        Hell, she’s just following Carol’s advice and going to the house to see if she can live there, right?

  73. Bagge

    That Becky face…. THAT BECKY FACE!!! *must resist urge to change awesome gravatar to other awesome gravatar.* I think someone just became favorite sibling.

    I love the alt text too, yup, this is the Joyce-and-Becky dynamic in a nutshell. Her parents ARE right that Becky is trouble, just not the kind they are afraid of.

    1. Bagge

      As faces go, that Jocelyne face is pretty rad too!

  74. Retrikaethan

    yep, definitely my favorite.

  75. ailorn

    Joss is totally my favorite! I know I keep saying it but she is awesome. 🙂 They totally have needed someone like her to step in and set them up for success.

    1. BenRG

      Anyone want to mod us a “Grand Theft Auto: La Porte”? 😉

  76. Jacques Cornelius Parrot III

    NEXT WEEK: Jocylene, Becky, and Joyce looking over blueprints and drawing plans on a chalkboard as they eat more chicken fingers

  77. ischemgeek

    … some how I think Becky is going to wind up in tears before this weekend is over. Like it’s been such an emotional rollercoaster, I don’t know how she’s keeping it together.

    First Hank is surprisingly decent, and then Carol was a butt, then John’s an ass as expected but Jocelyn is the most awesomest poopface new big sister, and Joyce – cheerful, demure, “perfect christian daughter” Joyce – is there downright going to battle for Becky and to hell with the consequences, and now Jocelyn is all, “yeah, let’s commit a felony together so you can get your ID. No big.”

    FFS, I’m a decade older and I’d be in tears by now.

    Mind you, Becky might also not really fully realize all that’s happened yet on an emotional level and the meltdown might be coming – that is also very me. I am the sort of person that winds up being the crisis manager if there’s an emergency of some sort, and then a few days to a week later I have my meltdown/realization moment.

    1. Cerberus

      I’d say that’s likely as fuck. She’s been running herself and her desperate optimism to the bone and I recognize that “push it all to the back of my mind, I can’t collapse now” mentality and how that demands its price later.

      My personal bet is she breaks down a bit when the weekend is over and she’s with Dina again. But I could be off and it’ll happen later, maybe when she finds out the court date for Toedad and is requested as a witness or maybe when things finally stabilize and mellow out enough that she has nothing to distract her from her complete and total collapse.

  78. DarkFlite

    Want a print of this one!

  79. doubleW

    Am I wrong to ship Jocelyn and Becky a teensy bit?

    1. No Name

      Canonically, yes. Jocelyne is straight.

      Fanonically? WHO CARES!

  80. NinjaNick

    Priceless reactions in the last few panels.

    Let’s sneak in like ninjas.

  81. TamiDOA

    In the real world, the 2nd most common job locksmiths do is people locked out of their houses, (cars are 1st). Some will ask for ID, (before or after you get in), but most assume a burglar wouldn’t risk being witnessed by the locksmith.

    But this is not the real world, so let the fun begin!

    1. Jerden

      Won’t it be funny when somebody points that out to the girls after their caper?

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      I locked myself out of my house once and called a locksmith. I was surprised that he never asked to see any ID or proof it was my house. He just picked the lock and took the payment (which was probably either a check or a credit card, so those might sorta count.)

    3. LimeSheep

      becky doesnt have any money, and joss probably doesnt have a lot to spare
      thats not really a viable option for them.

      also she could definitely get in legal trouble for that later

      1. TamiDOA

        Good point about the money since NOBODY seems to have enough money for the chicken fingers. 🙂 (Maybe Becky has a piggy bank.)

        But as many other comments have said, she would be entering her legal residence to retrieve her own belongings. So as long as she doesn’t take anything else, there’s little chance of legal trouble.

  82. Vaiya

    This has got to be my favorite strip so far in DoA. The expressions are just. so. perfect. (And Joss, who was inching her way up my fav list, is probably now in the top spot. Yay!)

  83. Lurlock

    So, they’re going to literally commit identity theft? I mean, is it still theft to steal your own identity?

    1. Dean

      No, identity theft is when you steal someone’s face and sew it onto your own head.

    2. Heavensrun

      That is literally not at all what they’re doing, but thanks for playing. ;p

      1. Lurlock

        I don’t know – breaking into a house to take someones identification documents is pretty darn close to literal identity theft. Maybe not theft since it’s her own, but it’s still breaking and entering at least…

        1. Heavensrun

          You cannot steal your own identity. It’s also debatable whether you can B&E your own house.

  84. Bagge

    “…so, Joss, a ‘writer’, was it?”
    “That’s right. And you know the first rule of writing, little sis?”
    “Cheap ramen?”
    “Always” *puts on Indiana Jones -hat* “WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW!!!”
    *The three of them speed away on motorcycles*

    (totally stole the joke from lia and Ana Chronistic above… stole it, LIKE A WRITER)

  85. Cas madocki

    Was gonna be on hiatus, but this is so good. The hurt is healing. I’m almost ready for more hurting.

    1. Cephalo the Pod

      That gravatar is amazing.

      1. Bagge

        The best gravatar.

      2. nightsbridge

        seconded.

      3. fogel

        🙂

      4. No Name

        It was made by Ana Chronistic. If you want another, just mention that a certain combination of panels will make a good Grav, but lament you’ll need Photoshop to make it work. She’ll take care of the rest!

  86. Itama

    Holy shit. Seriously holy shit.
    Ignoring the fact that Jocelyn is trans and has lighter hair, that was literally me in the forth panel. Glasses, haircut, eyes, smile, ominous hand-steeple, and casual statement of impending law-breakage. its erie.

    I’m also in art school, so we got the creative streak to share as well. And my name starts with j. Jocelyn is apparently the trans version of me…

  87. Cerberus

    OT, but sad to hear about the transphobic edits to Carla’s Walkypedia page and even sadder to see the “homoromantic asexual trans woman” bit be a casualty to the trolling edits as that always brought a smile to my face when I referenced that page.

    1. Shiro

      What happened? D:

      1. Cerberus

        CONTENT WARNING: TRANSPHOBIA

        Willis recently reblogged on tumblr that someone was set up as moderator to help monitor the transphobia and Carla’s edit history page is full of two very obsessed editors:
        http://walkypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Carla?action=history

        One trying to turn all of Carla’s pronouns to “he/him” and change the homoromantic asexual trans woman to “man, baby”. And another more baffling one changing all edits including “homoromantic asexual trans woman” to just “transgender” which it’s sitting at now.

        Relatively minor, but annoying to find out.

        1. Shiro

          Ugh, people are terrible. Why go out of their way to be a jerk like that?

        2. Heavensrun

          The latter might just be a desire to avoid bringing walkyverse info into a dumbiverse wiki page, since we haven’t seen anything in-comic to indicate that she is asexual or homoromantic yet. I mean, yeah, we’re likely to eventually, because of the Willis tradition of sexual preference carrying over from continuity to continuity, but it hasn’t been shown or stated in any way yet, and it might be some wiki editor’s desire to only include on the wiki page information which a reader of DoA would have been privy to.

          (obviously the transphobic bullshit is just awful.)

        3. David M Willis

          I have stated she is repeatedly myself. Pretty sure Walkypedia counts Word of God. I mean, if it doesn’t, then I think someone’s going to have to start clearing out some pages.

          I mean, it’s something that people have known since like 30 seconds after I put up her model sheet on Tumblr when somebody asked me. It’s something that was known months before Carla even appeared in the strip.

        4. Heavensrun

          Fair enough. I didn’t specifically remember you mentioning it anywhere.

        5. Cerberus

          Nah, cause there’s a link to a Willis tumblr post in the same article. so not even that makes sense. So is it like weird acephobia, an attempt to “sanitize” her without triggering the insta-wipe that a misgendering spree would? I just can’t figure it out for the life of me.

          Also, Carla’s revealed she’s trans, a woman, and she’s homoromantic in comic already, so she’s one purple, black, grey, and white flag away from it all being in comic anyways. So who knows?

  88. Rex Vivat

    Yay! Burglary!

  89. Megatron

    Now, we’re getting somewhere. Though, personally, I wouldn’t call it robbing. I’d call it taking what is rightfully mine.

    1. inqntrol

      Like the rank of Prime, which should have been yours, amirite?

  90. GVickers

    Okay, if you can’t successfully break into your own house, you have the worst criminal skill set ever recorded.

  91. Elf Royalty

    Jocelyne confirmed for Chaotic Good

  92. Dariu55

    It’s not a B&E when it’s your own place! Right? RIGHT?!?

  93. zmm

    Kay
    I like him.

    Also. I’m still confused.. why is that house locked up without legally her allowance to go in and get shit?
    Shoudln’t she either be incontact with legal folks about foster stuff. or be old enough that she could declare herself, well herself as a legal entity.
    and as the father is now in jail. but the one who legally owns the house?
    since her mom is gone.

    Unless there is surprise evil extra becky family who hate her now..
    but judging by how things went I am under teh assumption there is no other becky family

    1. Cerberus

      My guess is she doesn’t have a key to the house and her dad locked the house before he left to pick her up, as that’s a common practice in the States.

      She’s not under 18, so she’s legally an adult, so she wouldn’t be dealing with fosters, but also means she’s not going to have access to the house as a legal minor and that means a lot of gray area. And gray area means slow and expensive court processing with a possible bad ending.

      Also, as Toedad is incarcerated not dead, he is still the legal owner of the house and likely the sole owner of the house, albeit one with no means or motivation to keep up payments on the mortgage, so it will be foreclosed on eventually, but right now, unless some neighbors or the Church were given copies of the keys so they can keep an eye on it, I imagine it’s just being externally watched to keep it safe until he comes back.

      1. Cerberus

        Actually, I don’t know why I say probably, panel 3 Becky says outright that she’s got no key to the house.

    2. Shiro

      You like *her*. 🙂 There are no hims in today’s comic.

  94. kaunisenkeli

    Jocelyn, that might not be the best idea in the world. Given recent events (I keep losing track of how much time has actually passed in the comic), there is every chance that the police are still milling about the place.

  95. Also Becky

    Joyce has the coolest sister. <3 (well, sisterS since Becky is now officially declared family)

  96. Zaxares

    See, Jocelyn’s advice is what John should have been telling Becky from the start. XD Well… possibly minus the breaking into your own house thing, but I think that could be easily gotten around by informing the police of the situation and then getting a professional locksmith to open the door.

    I’m puzzled as to why Joyce seems so upset about this though. Compared to kidnapping by one’s own parents and a crazy car chase and punching out a man, breaking into one’s own house seems fairly tame.

    1. Kamino Neko

      Jocelyne’s advice is what she was trying to say when John hijacked the discussion. (… Jesus, he can’t even let a woman speak when he doesn’t know she’s a woman. Meta-sexism….)

      1. Amazi-Stool

        He?

        1. Amazi-Stool

          Oh, so you are referring to John!

  97. bryy

    Ten bucks says the family is at the house. I also await Joyce’s confrontation with her mom. Something akin to “If you want to blame someone for who I am, blame yourself”?

    Also, I really hope we get the trial of Russ McToedad.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      In the real world, the wheels of Justice run very slowly; there’s no reason to suspect that it moves any faster in the DoA-verse — and according to Willis, we will probably never even see the spring semester, so I doubt like hell that we will see anything of Toedad’s legal matters other than possibly an arraignment hearing at which he would be formally charged and be expected to enter a plea.  In his own mind, he still think he did nothing wrong so would probably enter a ‘not guilty’ plea or stand mute and have a ‘not guilty’ plea entered on his behalf.  

      1. thejeff

        Well his lawyer is going to do their best to convince him of the very real consequences of his actions and the best ways to minimize them – which in this case would be to take a plea deal if offered. That’s pretty much true whether he can afford a good lawyer or he’s relying on a public defender.
        It’s an open and shut case and no one’s going to want to go to trial defending him.
        Of course, he might go full on fanatic about it, but a couple weeks locked up often gives people time to reconsider.

        1. No Name

          I have a feeling that someone from the church will send a lawyer to defend his “innocence”.

  98. Willoughby Chase

    “should you wish to accept” …

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGSUjuSBt1A

  99. John

    I was going to say that Jocelyne is Best Big Sister, but then I remembered the competition being Big Damn Hero with a baseball bat, so I’m not sure who wins.

    1. Bagge

      We CAN say for certain who loses.

      Ryan.

      And John.

      And ToeDad.

      And every single bigoted jerk who tries to make things worse for Joyce and Becky.

      Because Big Sis is on the case, both of them.

    2. fogel

      They both win, Jocelyne & Sarah: its pernicious culture/ideology that ONE SINGLE INDIVIDUAL IS *THE* BESTEREST OF ALL.

      1. thejeff

        I agree. Reject the false dichotomy. Joyce has the Best Big Sisters.

        Even if she only knows about one of them.

  100. Keulan

    OMG those last 2 panels! Priceless.

    1. yomi

      Yes, I love them!

  101. Liliet

    This is such an ‘awwww my babies are all grown up now’ face Joss has going on that third-to-last panel <33333333333

  102. Captain Whoever on the Planet of Things

    Seems legit, but just a question for Americans – there must be some reasonable way to get your SSN back if you lose it completely, no? Some government process?

    1. figureaddict

      Not one that will be quick

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      There are ways, but they take time, at least some money ($25 filing fee or something like that), and knowing where to go, who to ask, what forms to file where, and with what supporting documentation .

      But the problem is that if you have no identity-related documentation at all, you are in a chicken and egg dilemma because you can’t get any identity-related documentation without proving you are the person it applies to.

      If you have a driver’s license (or equivalent non-driving state ID card), you can get your birth certificate, and vice versa. But if you have nothing at all that proves who are, it is much more difficult and time consuming.

      (To be fair, there does have to be bureaucratic stuff like this to prevent people from stealing other peoples’ identities or creating fake identities.)

      We know Becky doesn’t have her SSN number, and we speculate that she may not have other documents either because Ross was sloppy and careless, and/or a overcontrolling buttopening.

      A worse situation would be he is someone who refuses to have anything at all to do with the evil government if he can possibly avoid it, and Becky’s birth was never registered and no certificate or other government records exist. There are such people, but most commenters don’t seem to think that he is that far out there. But the ways of Willis are dark, mysterious, and incomprehensible to mortals.

      1. Kamino Neko

        Joss doesn’t think he’s that far out there, either, and she grew up in the same community, and their families were close, so I think that’s pretty good evidence against Willis pulling a ‘and he was a paranoid fuck, as well as a bigoted asshole’ twist.

    3. Brian

      In the US, if you’re trying to get a replacement card (assuming that Becky was given at least 1 original, usually at birth and held on to by her parents), it doesn’t cost anything, but you need SOMETHING that proves your identity–a school ID may work if it has information like a date of birth on it, or even a copy of your medical records, for example.

    4. Cerberus

      Yes, but it requires some jumping through hoops and most of the document replacements assume you have at least two of the three of driver’s license, social security number, and passport.

      It’s paperwork and fees and taking time off work to find the right department/make an appointment/fill out forms.

      Where it gets messy is when you have no documentation, because the system is designed to make getting your documentation back when you’ve fallen through the cracks like that as hard as possible. Most of the core documents require a combination of the other core documents or a bunch of support documents.

      So replacing those can be something an aid organization like the Ali Forney Project in NY will dedicate resources for in helping them sue for the documents or figure out what are the easiest core documents to replace and how to go about doing that and give the homeless youth a place to store them so they don’t get stolen, left behind, or destroyed.

      Sadly, that can involve needing to sue for police-escorted access to the house and documents or lots of pro-bono lawyer hours and massive paperwork and a year+ long wait for everything to get fully sorted.

      Given Becky’s desires and plans and her unease with not being able to contribute to group outings, I doubt she’d ideally want to wait that long and definitely doesn’t have any idea on where to begin as not even us google-literate adult types have been able to agree on the best method for that.

      Also, what Slartibeast said.

  103. L!ghtn!ng

    Yaaaaaas, I am looking forward to a Brown sisters (and adopted sister) heist!

  104. Alexx

    …could you not just tell the Police about it? I mean, it’s probably only locked up because her Dad locked the door when he left, and if that’s not the case, then someone official did it. SOMEONE has the keys, and if it was her Dad, then they’ve been taken from him. I could be wrong, but it’s it just a matter of asking for them? Why would anyone stop you from getting your own personal information?

    1. Everyone. No one. Shutup!

      As much as anything else I think he’s messing with Joyce. I would totally believe that they are about to just follow proper protocol and get her things the legal way. XD

      1. welcrye

        She. The tag is Jocelyne for a reason.

    2. Foxhack

      I was about to post this.

      She should’ve had access to the house after her dad got thrown in jail so she could retrieve her personal belongings – like clothes and her personal documentation. Why wasn’t she allowed in the house?

      1. Cerberus

        Two different jurisdictions. Also, they might not have known she didn’t have access to her own home and so might not have offered that service and the coordination with La Porte that would have required.

    3. Carolyn

      I would normally agree, but they do run the risk of the local police being unsympathetic to Becky’s plight and making things more difficult for them. Especially if any of them knew Toedad.

    4. Bicycle Bill

      You would more than likely have to go with someone as a chaperone/observer/neutral 3rd party to make sure you were not removing things that were *NOT* yours — which is OK, but I also feel that Becky does not know EXACTLY where these things might be so there is going to be a fair amount of digging around and searching through file cabinets, desk drawers, and other storage boxes like money boxes, check storage boxes, and what-have-you.  Your average policeman or other assigned person might look askance at what would appear to them to be more like an ransacking — no matter how orderly — of the contents.

    5. Kamino Neko

      They’re trying to get the information that she would need to convince the cops that she’s the (non-incarcerated) person who lives there.

      The best case scenario if they go to the police: ‘Hi, I really need to get into my house.’ ‘Can I see some proof that you live there?’ ‘Uh….’ ‘Yeah, “Uh” isn’t valid ID.’

      Worst case: ‘Hi, I really need to get into my house.’ ‘Fuck off, dyke.’

      1. thejeff

        Well, assuming this was a more normal case and she wasn’t operating in hostile territory, you bring along a couple of respectable local adults – Hank and their pastor, for example – to vouch for her and the cops let her right in without trouble. Send someone along to make sure she’s not just looting the place and so she can show them the id when found as final confirmation.

        Of course, they are in hostile territory, so that wouldn’t happen.

        If Ross had been arrested for something unrelated while she was at college, she wouldn’t have had any trouble getting back into and even living in the house. Financial difficulties aside anyway.

        1. Kamino Neko

          Is this an actual officially sanctioned thing in America?

          Because it’s beyond terrible as security, especially, but not only, for marginalized groups.

        2. Scoops

          Is what officially sanctioned?

          The potential for “small town” police corruption where they refuse to help people they don’t like is not officially sanctioned, of course, but it is difficult to over-rule the local authorities unless they get really blatant about it. (The police who shot a fire chief in a court room comes to mind.) http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/fire_chief_shot_in_court_over_tickets/

          Or do you mean officially sanctioned process of getting access to your house to acquire your possessions if you don’t have keys to the house? I’m not sure. It may require a civil court order, and I don’t know how long that would take. In Dumbiverse time, it could be decades.

        3. Cerberus

          She would definitely need to sue for it, because her dad would probably not be cooperative about her attempt to “break into his house and destroy the last of my family”, especially if it was in service of her “continuing to live a degenerate lifestyle”. And even then, as you note, the high potential for small town corruption means they might flat out refuse to enforce it unless forced to do so by the Bloomington police.

          And given my own recent experiences doing a civil order, it would take about a month and a half at best, which has been the total running time in universe of the comic so far plus another half of that running time.

        4. thejeff

          Assuming you’re talking about the non-hostile case of the cops helping/allowing a legal resident to access her home without formal ID, based on known people in the community vouching for her: no, it’s probably not officially sanctioned.
          It is however, how the world works. More by informal arrangements than by strict procedure. It sucks for those who fall outside of those arrangements, but it’s also a way for those with privilege to help those without when they can.

          As for security, sure. It’s horrible security, but your average home isn’t very secure anyway. I wouldn’t expect it to work for some trying to get into an actual secure facility or even a business. And the point is that those vouching for her are putting themselves on the line and they have the standing in the community to have something to lose. If they backed a total stranger who wound up robbing the place, they could be considered accomplices.

          The formal way, involving lawyers and court orders, could probably be done pretty fast – if you had id and money to hire the lawyers in the first place.

        5. Fwip

          “Locks don’t exist to keep criminals out; just to keep honest men honest.”

        6. welcrye

          Good luck getting rabid homophobes to help the homeless lesbian. You have too much faith in human decency.

        7. Mep

          Do they know she’s a lesbian? She’s probably not intelligent enough not to walk in and yell HAI GUYZ HALP I AM LEZBIAN but short of that, she’s just a teenager who was shot at by her father for her weird haircut.

        8. Liliet

          Do you think that’s how the news put it?

  105. DarkoNeko

    It’s okay, over half of the team is happy with it !

  106. a Dave

    If you are a resident of a dwelling and can prove it ( mail addressed to you ect.), you can enter that dwelling by any means you see fit. Break a window, open the door with an axe, whatever you live there. Check the residence and eviction laws in your area.

    1. Jhon

      But are you really ‘John Doe’ or did you just steal a handful of his mail? Let’s see some ID.

      1. thejeff

        Yeah, I don’t think getting a piece of mail out of the mailbox and using that to prove you live there should work.

  107. Ragnarok101

    Jocelyn just gets more and more awesome every strip.

  108. dixie mobbs

    this is like my favorite strip ever i think

  109. BenRG

    Jocelyne is doing her ‘Dr Evil’ impression there, I see!

    I have a strange feeling that Joyce is going to turn up for ‘the job’ dressed in her Sal-simulation clothing in an attempt to encourage badass feelings in herself.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      And Becky, in keeping with her attitude as shown in the title of book 5, will be telling all and sundry that “Hey! We’re going to break in to my old house!”

  110. Lan

    I remember when I had to help break into one of my former dwelling when we were moving because the landlord changed all the locks on us during a drop-off at the new place. At times I wonder if Kentucky’s really hell.

  111. Historyman68

    It’s a good thing they all have the privilege of being white, because there’s been a number of black people arrested or worse for trying to break into their own houses.

    1. Cerberus

      Oh very much this. Becky might end up being harassed by cops, but someone like Sal trying to do the same thing to get into her home would be gunned down by cops in an instant. Hell, cops have gunned down black folks simply for trying to get into their own home with their own keys, because in their words “that shiny thing in his hand looked like a gun”.

      1. Historyman68

        One of my hometown friend’s proudest moments was when the president called the Cambridge cops a bunch of dummies for arresting a black Harvard professor trying to get into his house. Obama confirmed what we always knew.

    2. Fwip

      This post just made me realize that I kicked in my own door once (the lock was jammed) in the early evening (about 4-5 PM) in a crowded apartment building and nobody once decided to stop me or call the police.

      On the one hand, that was a time saver. On the other, given that at least one apartment near mine was occupied by people who would later be wanted for killing a man and burning the corpse, I suddenly worry about civic responsibility in my old neighbourhood. Ah, the joys of living in a slum.

  112. Just for kix

    Becky was right, Joyce does make a lot of funny faces. This one definitely goes into hall of fame.

  113. Matt

    Last three panels need to be the cover of the next book. Maybe with a good the bad and the ugly kind of theme

  114. JBento

    I sense incoming hiijinks. Or, dare I hope, possibly even shenanigans.

    “What are we doing tonight, Jocelyne?”
    “Same thing we do every night, little sisters – try to take over BECKY’S HOUSE!”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      “Are you pondering what I am pondering?”

      “I think so Jocelyne, but La Porte doesn’t have a zeppelin mast.”

  115. Lulu

    Having new family is nice…
    Family activity, Joyce kissing Becky would be an act of incest now, right?

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      This is not the first time the issue has come up.

  116. Jack Faire

    I want to marry him.

    1. welcrye

      Her. Jocelyne is a woman.

      1. Joy Baker

        We do know it’s a bit confusing because a lot of the time the characters refer to her as Josh(ua) but she is a woman.

  117. Tikitori

    I see posted this already, but I’m in the camp of, “Why can’t she ask the police to get in to her home”.

    If it truly is a small town, then the police wouldn’t even need ID to confirm. If hostile…well, can’t confirm that without trying.

    1. Fwip

      At the very least, the neighbours would likely confirm her identity if asked. She and her family have lived there since the day she was born.

      1. Mep

        I didn’t even think about neighbors. Isn’t there like a 100% chance that a neighbor has a spare key to the house?

        1. Fwip

          I don’t know. I don’t live in the US. Around here, nobody trusts their neighbours enough to give them a house key.

        2. de Combys

          Seriously? I wonder where you are.

        3. Fwip

          The vast and snowy wastelands of Canada.

        4. thejeff

          Perhaps, but if you were Becky, would you go to anyone that Toedad would trust enough to give a key?

        5. de Combys

          Point, and also, I mean isn’t part of that town basically a sect? Maybe the policemen can’t be trusted either, or maybe the town is small enough to only have state police.

    2. trlkly

      Sure, if the police help out, it would be great. If they don’t, however, then they’ve just made everything a whole lot worse.

      The one reason this plan can work with hostile police is that they have the element of surprise. They can get in and get the door open before there is a problem.

  118. Clayton

    That’s the face of a true criminal. Beautiful.

  119. Miles

    Looks like Becky’s got some competition for best Character.
    Anyone who says lets break into your own house as a family activity is awesome in my book.

  120. Tomas

    This will actually be the second time Becky tries breaking into a place to steal her own stuff. The first time was at her dorm at Anderson. I hope this doesn’t awaken something in her.

    1. Daibhid C

      I wouldn’t worry about it. How many places containing her own stuff can there be?

      1. de Combys

        There’s still the Browns and eventually her own rented place, I guess?

  121. Briny

    I… kinda thought that was part of Becky’s plan to start with? I am disappoint.

    1. Fwip

      Solo heist becomes a trio!

  122. Spiffster13

    https://www.vitalchek.com/ for all your birth cert/ legal doc needs

    1. Guairdean Beatha

      It’s kinda scary that I can request my own death certificate.

    2. Larkle

      Haha, if only Becky read the comments.

    3. Cerberus

      Given this is where clicking the links for birth certificate lead:
      https://www.vitalchek.com/birth-certificates/indiana

      I’m gonna guess that they require the same proofs of identity as those locations and all they do is save the process of physically walking to those places for a “nominal” fee that Becky wouldn’t have.

      As Lin notes above, it’s not an easy thing to replace all your records when you don’t have anything.

      1. thejeff

        I tried digging a little deeper into that site, but didn’t get to anything about documentation before they wanted a credit card.

        I’d be shocked if they could bypass required documentation.

        1. Spiffster13

          To be honest she may not know where she was born and a few other things that would be needed to get it. There is so many things I’d ask her if I knew her as a real person to try to help.

          For instance, If she ever got a Driver’s License or Permit or ID card before she could verbally confirm info and get another one at the Indiana BMV to use to get a Birth certificate and social card.

        2. de Combys

          Seems a bit fishy to me.

        3. Cerberus

          Yeah, that was honestly the first thing that jumped out at me is that it looked very scam like or at least not up front about what all is required. Plus, it’s not really safe to give a private entity that much access into your personal records.

  123. Valkyr

    Jocelyn is my favorite character and I love her and I humbly request permission to call her auntie Jolyne (JO-lean)

  124. Larkle

    This is going to be one crazy sisterhood.

  125. Willoughby Chase

    The League of Ladies?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcHIVCbADn4

  126. jjX

    Vigilante justice is dangerous! To illustrate, here’s several books of AmaziGirl.
    ~~Spins 720~~
    AND NOW FOR SOME VIGILANTE JUSTICE.

    1. Spencer

      I mean, breaking into your own house is less vigilante justice and more sitcom material.

      Besides, most Amazi-Girl sequences are wacky fun catharsis moments where she beats up cardboard jerks with zero personality or agency outside of being big punching bags. Other than beating up Sal (where she was a loser who got kneed in the guy and told she was a gigantic fuck up by her Joe Chill) and the car chase (where she was, ultimately, meant to be a positive and Sal’s comments to her and Danny were mostly about the danger she brings upon herself), Amazi-Girl is usually presented as a consequence free positive and a ticket for hijinks.

      1. Leorale

        She isn’t really presented as consequence-free anymore. I mean, she doesn’t face legal consequences, but it’s become increasingly clear that AG is an increasingly dangerous coping strategy, physically and mentally.

        1. Spencer

          Right, yeah, I should have specified that I was talking about the earlier Amazi-Girl stuff, where she was just a front for consequence free hijinks, which has been gradually stripped away from the comic since the fights with Blaine and Sal.
          it. The last time we got anything that was remotely like the older Amazi-Girl stuff was December 2014.

        2. thejeff

          Judging from the previews, we’ve got some Amazi-Girl action coming up in May. We’ll see if it’s dark traumatic Amazi-Girl or the hijinks version.

        3. Spencer

          Well she’s punching a dude, and the only time Amber successfully punches someone is when they’re a big enough jerk that they deserve to be punched and then disappear into the ether where they never appear again, so I imagine whatever drama in that sequence won’t stem from that. Most likely it’ll be a combo of Danny telling her about his talk with Sal and Dorothy bringing up that the cops are after her and realizing that Amber isn’t the cool romantic fantasy hero she thought she was.

          I’ve said this before, but I am genuinely confident we never get an Amazi-Girl sequence where one of the dudes she beats up shows a lick of humanity or even registers that they’re a human being who doesn’t like being punched.

        4. trlkly

          Seeing as the only person she has punched is her dad, and she says that’s “Amber”, not “Amazi-girl,” I can see that. But I could also see her slipping as part of her arc of getting better. You know, a new low point so she can decide she needs help.

          Her fights before were not only consequence free. She also would wait until they threatened her to respond with violence.

          There’s a reason why the police only were looking for her after she punched Ross while in costume.

          Well, that and what I’ve pointed out many times–the odd lack of police on campus. The punch was off-campus.

        5. Spencer

          Well, the problem with Amber slipping and realizing she has a problem in one of her Amazi-Girl fights is that she just victimized, or came close to victimizing, an actual person to achieve this resolution. Even if they’re doing something really awful, it contextualizes Amber as someone who is unforgivably violent because she’s beating up an actual human being and not just some mook from Final Fight, and now she needs to be taken down not for the potential danger she brings to herself, but the people around her.

          This is why when Amber went after Sal, she knocked over Malaya and then proceeded to get held down, get verbally torn apart by Sal, and kneed in the gut by Malaya and just barely avoiding a wholly justified ass kicking by Sal. If Amber actually hurt Sal then she’s hurting someone who actually matters as a character, the same way that when Sal picked a fight with Malaya, she was the only one who actually got any damage and then Marcie stepped in before Sal could actually fight back.

  127. MECaterpillar

    So this is the 20th strip in a row with a trans character in it. This is way longer than any previous streak of strips with a trans character. I keep thinking that we’re going to have a cut-away any moment now and it’ll be over (although this current streak started off with a cut-away).

    1. trlkly

      We will probably have a cutaway, sure. Because we’ve been focusing on a single story line for a while. Sure, Joyce is the main character and gets about half the strip time, but everyone else gets some of the remaining half.

      But why in the world would it have anything to do with having a trans character in it?

      I don’t think you’re trying to come off badly, but your comment can easily be read as saying you think that we need to get away from the trans characters because it’s bothering you.

      1. David M Willis

        I got the opposite impression, that they were grateful.

      2. MECaterpillar

        I think you may be reading too much into my comment. Why would it be bothering me? From what I’ve seen of them, Carla and Jocelyn are interesting characters (though not necessarily any more so than some of the other characters). I just thought it is an interesting and unexpected streak going on and I’m curious to see how long it’ll go.

        It seems usually scenes are either not too long, or the comic cuts away to something else before returning back. In addition, not all characters in a scene usually appear on all the strips of that scene (Jocelyn was just barely in some of these strips!). As such, these kinds of long streaks are likely rare and it’s likely not long before the scene ends or we cut away and come back. That said we’ve been on this same scene for like 13 strips, which, I think, is kind of on the long side for Dumbing of Age (I haven’t done an statistical analysis so I may be wrong).

  128. Henry

    Hey, hey, hey, Jocelyne, technically, it’s only *burglary* until you actually threaten someone.

  129. Deviant

    I forsee traumatic memories being triggered.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Catastrophic failure of her perky super-fake-happy-mode?

  130. Tenn

    Jocelyne is hella awesome. ^-^

  131. Fwip

    A random question comes to mind: Why doesn’t Becky have keys to her own house? I’ve had a set for the family home since I was twelve; still have one after having moved out. Did she leave them behind when she fled? Was she never trusted with them? Feels weird that she wouldn’t have them.

    1. Kirby

      Possible she did but gave them back when she went off to college. Or when she was forced back, they were taken away to make it harder for her to sneak in and out.

    2. David M Willis

      when I went to college I didn’t keep a housekey. why would I need one? if I went home it would be because my parents drove me.

      1. Fwip

        In case of emergencies? To signify that you’re still welcome at home? It seems bizarre to give it up; like you’re not really considered a member of the family anymore. Plus, a key costs, what, ten, twenty dollars to get made? Unless you desperately need another, the symbolic value of letting your child keep something that allows them to feel like they’re not on their own in the world and have somewhere that will always be welcoming to them feels worth the price of a take-out meal or two.

        Maybe that’s just me, though.

        1. Conuly

          Twenty dollars? Two fifty if I want a nice one with, like, enameling, one buck if I just go to the discount store to have it done.

        2. MECaterpillar

          I’d have to disagree here. First, my own experience doesn’t help any here as I always had the access code to my parents’ garage door opener, but no key. However, I would say that in general you’d want to have a good control of what keys there are to your house. It’s unlikely you’d want to give a key to someone who will never use it and possibly lose it. In my case, I went to college 10 hours away from my parents’ house and any trips up to my parents’ house would’ve been well planned ahead. I also didn’t own a car, so no driving up on my own account. I think Becky would have been almost as unlikely to just go to her dad’s house given the distance and lack of a car. Hence she wouldn’t have any use of a key and would have had a higher chance of losing such a key than using it. Now, of course, she’s in different circumstances that wouldn’t have even been considered.

        3. Fwip

          Losing a key – with no address or identifying details – ten hours away from where it can be used carries no more risk than having it magically vanish.

          Plus, if you do come home from college on a trip, being able to leave and return to the house on your own is pretty handy.

  132. Mep

    There’s a really easy way to confirm her identity enough for her to get into her house: all her school records ever. High school. Middle School. Elementary school. She wasn’t home schooled the whole time. She’s been out of high school for fewer than 6 months. I’m damn sure someone at a high school would vouch for her.

    This is in the land of computers. There’s a school database with her picture in it, the same one that they use to make her school ID. These are all things I had in a moderately conservative high school 20 years ago.

    In order for this whole thing to work:

    She would need to be hated by 100% of every school administrator ever, enough that not one of them would confirm her identity enough for her to get the police to open her house.

    The police would suddenly stop watching TV and somehow miss a local guy fucking shooting up a college campus and kidnapping his daughter AND suddenly stop being sympathetic to young white women. (Even the worst cops love white women!)

    Becky would be 100% incapable of not saying she’s gay for 10 minutes, long enough to tell the police she was thrown out of the house by her crazy dad. No one knows she was thrown out. She’s probably not smart enough not to yell I AM GAY LOLZ in a police department, but who knows? Oh, and being gay, I don’t preface everything I ask for with my sexuality. I go about my life.

    Becky is a media darling right now. You don’t think a white cop in a white town would love to help the white girl whose dad shot at her?

    1. Spencer

      Becky was, in fact, home schooled the entire time. As was Joyce.

      As for the cops, well, even odds they high five her for breaking off from Toedad or give her shit for putting such a Good Honest Christian in jail for trying to save her from her sinful ways.

    2. thejeff

      If they know Ross kidnapped her, they likely know why. I doubt Ross kept his reasons for pulling her from school a big secret and this is a small town and probably the biggest story in years. One of the reasons Becky’s been so open about it is that everyone she ever knew already knows. And she might as well find out how new people are going to react right away.

      Plenty of people in this town are going to have the same kind of reaction Carol did – He was just doing what he thought was best for her.

    3. David M Willis

      the hell do you get “she wasn’t home schooled the entire time” from

      like the entire premise of the webcomic demands the exact opposite

      1. Mep

        Mostly because I forgot she was home schooled the whole time.

        But she probably left the house sometime, somewhere…

        1. David M Willis

          to work at the birth cerrtificate factory???

    4. FortyTwo

      So much of your post is undermined by a huge assumption you made: She was, in fact, home schooled the entire time. She’s not in any middle school or high school database. She likely never had a school ID until she went to Anderson.

      Where did you get the idea that she couldn’t be home schooled the whole time? Were you just thinking that there’s no way this could actually happen? Because it does.

      I am genuinely curious how you got this idea, since Willis has been very clear about this.

  133. Mep

    Sorry to double post, but I went and asked some actual cops what would happen in this situation. They said, and I quote:

    “It’s not B&E if you live there. Kick the fucker down. It’s a civil matter.”

    Since Becky would technically live in her father’s house when college was not in session, she has legal right to be in that house.

    1. trlkly

      If we are dealing with good cops, sure. But if we’re dealing with homophobic cops who want to make it hard on Becky, there’s a whole lot they could do. They don’t have to believe it’s really her house, for example. And, without ID, she can’t prove it.

      Even if it ultimately wound up with it being okay, they could make life hard on her and her accomplices. Sure, they’d eventually get around to finding the ID and letting her go, but it could take time.

      Assuming there is some ID to get.

      1. trlkly

        I just had a nasty idea, though. Becky could, well, lie. Say she’s repented of her “sin” and is totally straight “again.”

        Though I mostly think that they’ll look around, almost be caught, but then make it out by the skin of their teeth. They’ll have to talk to the cops, but they won’t find out what happened. It’d be tense, but they make it out.

        Only to get back into the fire with the Browns.

      2. JQuire

        Unless Becky tells the cops she’s gay, I doubt the random beat cop is going to know….

        1. thejeff

          Not sure exactly what made it into the news, but I’d bet about 90% of the town knows about “the MacIntyre girl who ran away after she got caught with another girl at school.” Exactly how they phrase the part about the kidnapping and arrest depends on just how bigoted they are.
          The rumor mill works really fast in small towns, supplying all the scandalous details that weren’t in the news stories.

        2. Leorale

          Lived in small town, can confirm. It doesn’t even have to be on the news, as Ross and Becky were.
          For example, I once walked to highschool without an umbrella while it was raining. By the time I got home at 2:30pm, both my parents had heard about it, from two different sources apiece.

    2. Megatron

      You do realize that we live in a world where Harvard professors have been arrested from entering their own home? And in Florida, a guy was shot in his own driveway. Even if what you’re doing is legal, cops can make your life hell.

      1. Megatron

        Hey Willis, can you delete this? This sounds to reasonable of me. I gotta an image to protect?

        I might be kidding. IDK.

        1. Megatron

          Gerrrrr. Something something fleshling.

          Fusion canon.

          MTMTE reference.

          It’s tough running everything through the “cartoonishly evil despot” filter.

        2. Tomas

          Well aren’t you just a big ol’ softie.

          *Hugs*

        3. Megatron

          I hate this mud ball.

      2. Mep

        Sad fact: in America we treat black and other darker-skinned people very differently than we treat white people. She is white. She will be more likely to get a pass.

  134. Aaron

    I’ve been reading DOA for about a month now (reading the comments has slowed me down considerably) and I’ve finally caught up to the present 🙂

    I’ve enjoyed reading this immensely so far. DOA is an incredibly-well written webcomic, and I’m really looking to not being able to click ‘Next’ immediately anymorecontinuing to read it. Keep up the amazing work, Willis!

  135. Emperor Norton II

    OK, so I did a word search on “chapter”, “title”, “door”, and “God”… and I did not find anything that indicated the following:

    Here, people, here is the main reason for the chapter title. I know that Willis always has several references in mind, but come on, what could he really mean if not:

    “When God closes the door… Jocelyne smashes in a window!”

    1. Aaron

      Well, keep in mind that the chapter/storyline isn’t over yet.

    2. hof1991

      Well, God works in mysterious ways and Joss is pretty mysterious.

    3. Leorale

      All the titles reference multiple things in the chapter!
      For example, La Porte means ‘the door’, so if the town is closed to them because of their version of God, then that will be another one.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        I know, that’s why I said ” I know that Willis always has several references in mind”

        But he usually also has a particular “main meaning”, so to speak. Such as “That Perfect Girl” being referencing… Well, it could practically talk about all the girls in the comic, and it was indeed about several of them. But it was also a bit more about Carla than about anyone else.

  136. wafflebob

    Joshua is new favorite character behind Carla.

    1. Conuly

      I believe that’s Jocelyne, though Joyce and Becky don’t know that.

  137. cmd1095

    That last panel XD

  138. halcyon1234

    =D
    :C

  139. DT

    This is how I imagine Becky’s facial expression changed:
    http://abload.de/img/happiness.avi4cji6.gif

    1. Bagge

      EXACTLY like that.

  140. Falling Star

    I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED THIS
    THIS IS BEAUTIFUL

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